India : Bharat Band on September 2nd: Crisis deepens as 70,000 nurses to carry on indefinite strike from tomorrow
New Delhi, September 1: The Central Government is worried about the Bharat Band, as 15 crore workers of government and private sectors had called for a strike on Friday (September 2).
The All India Government Nurses Federation had called a strike on September 1, unless nine of their major demands, including some which did not fall in the Health Ministry’s domain, were met.
“We are not happy with the response of the government and so we will go ahead with our proposed strike from tomorrow. But, we will attend to an emergency and critical cases,” Spokesperson of All India Government Nurses Federation Liladhar Ramchandani said to PTI. (Also Read: 7th Pay Commission latest news: Nurses call off strike planned from August 2)
“We tried to convince them but they are adamant about their demands. The ministry has assured them but they are not yielding. Also, so many people are suffering from dengue and chikungunya in this season, and we also asked them to defer the strike but in vain,” Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr A K Gadpayle said to PTI.
With the viral diseases reaching an alarming proportion across India, the Health Ministry again reached out to nurses on Thursday and told them it had made some positive recommendations to the Ministry of Finance in respect to their demands on pay scale revision and revision in allowances.
The Health Ministry has approved seven out of nine demands and the remaining two demands will be looked by Finance Ministry. If the officials of AIGNF are not convinced by the government then there are chances that the strike will be carried out on Friday.
The strike will affect the health care services across Central Government hospitals in India. It also involves all nurses serving in central government institutes like the PGI Chandigarh and other state government hospitals. According to rough estimates, the number of nurses on strike is around 70,000.
In Delhi, around 25,000 nurses have gone on strike asking the government to fulfill their demands. especially at a time when a large number of poor patients suffering from dengue, malaria, and chikungunya are admitted to the hospital.
Earlier Supreme Court has urged essential health services cadres to keep public welfare before personal interests. But still, doctors and nurses have not stopped from striking from work.
Recently, the Supreme Court had ordered the MCI to come down heavily through state medical councils on doctors who went on strike without caring for patients.
Demands made by nurses
Earlier NWA President Lakhvinder Singh has promised to initiate an agitation if the government fails to incorporate their demand in the 7th Pay Commission.
Since past 10 months, the nurses affiliated NWA have been protesting and made demands of parity in their pay, allowances, and increment as per the standards in the private hospitals. The demands made by nurses includes up gradation of night duty allowances, risk allowances, nursing allowances, and hike in their pay grade. After most of their demands were sidelined by the 7th pay Commission report, the union threatened to launch a massive strike.
According to the NWA, the nurses are still placed at the bottom of the 7th Pay Commission’s pay grade, due to which they are left with no hope. In past few days, NWA members conducted a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi when representatives of Health Minister J P Nadda assured that their demands would be kept in front of senior leaders.