On the call of the All-India Government Nurses Federation (AIGNF), the nurses of the State health services would be on strike from March 15. The nurses are agitated over salary disparity and provisions of the seventh pay commission which they claim are retrogressive for them.
On February 26, the nurses working in all Government facilities had undertaken a mass casual leave to pressurise the government.
The federation also held a massive demonstration at Jantar Mantar on the day in which representatives of all state federations took part. The federation has now given a country wide call of indefinite strike from March 15.
The President of Uttarakhand Nurses association, Anjana Bhowmick told The Pioneer that nurses of state health services would participate in the strike as the association is affiliated to AIGNF. She however added that the nurses would attend the emergency services in public interest. The number of nurses in State health services is 1290.
The AIGNF is demanding that the entry level grade pay of nurses should be increased from existing Rs4,800 to Rs5,400 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.
Bhowmick said 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. “It appears that those who devised the recommendation of pay commission had an anti nursing services mindset and the nurses would not tolerate any injustice meted out to them,’’ she said.