The Government nurses of Uttarakhand wore black arm bands on Friday to express their solidarity with their all India counterparts.
The All India Government Nurses federation (AIGNF) had given a strike and protest call on the day to highlight their problems. The Uttarakhand unit of the federation however decided to work on the day but expressed their protest by wearing black arm bands.
The nurses are agitated over salary disparity and provisions of the seventh pay commission which they claim are retrogressive for them. On February 26 and March 15 this year the nurses working in all Government facilities had undertaken a mass casual leave to pressurize the Government.
The President of Uttarakhand Nurses association, Krishna Rawat said that nurses of state health services would intensify their agitation in coming days if the demands of nurses are continued to be ignored. She also blamed the State Government for not paying any heed to the justified demands of nurses.
The AIGNF is demanding that the entry level grade pay of nurses should be increased from existing Rs 4800 to Rs 5400 in the Sixth pay commission. The federation of nurses is also demanding that government should revise the recommendations which are made in the seventh pay commission for nursing services. The nurses are of the view that the recommendation of VII pay commission reveal that the nurses would be downgraded vis a vis other similarly placed cadres which is very unfortunate.