In what turned out to be a sort of anti climax after days of tough posturing, the association of Government nurses and pharmacists suspended their earlier declared plans of going on strike from Monday. The Uttarakhand nursing association backed off from its call off the strike on Sunday afternoon following which the pharmacists too decided to suspend their proposed strike.
The Secretary of the Uttarakhand Pharmacists Association, Sudha Kukreti said that all the pharmacists unanimously decided to call off the strike plan. She said that Monday was International Pharmacy day and all the pharmacists not only discharged their duties but also distributed fruits to the patients in different hospitals on the day.
The President of the Uttarakhand Nurses Association Krishna Rawat said that the association has decided to give some more time to rectify the disparity in the grade pays of the nurses and pharmacists.
On the issue of Grade Pay the nurses and Pharmacists of Uttarakhand are at loggerheads. The grade pay of the pharmacists was increased by the last Government which infuriated the nurses. The nurses even went on a strike last year but had to beat a hasty retreat when the Uttarakhand High Court banned it and directed them to immediately resume work.
The nurses of Uttarakhand are angry as according to them the pharmacists managed to hike their grade pay by putting undue pressure on the Government but the similar plea from their side was ignored.
The nurses believe that their grade pay should be higher than pharmacists as the education qualification of nurses is higher than that of pharmacists. They want that the Government should now rectify the error.
This view of nurses is being vehemently opposed by the pharmacists of the State health services.