On September 2, 2016, all the Government Nurses under the aegis of ‘All India Government Nurses Federation’ went on a nationwide strike to express their agitation and dissatisfaction toward their pending demands.
The AIGNF (All India Govt. Nurses Federation) was unable to reach any concrete decision. This was due to the absence of movement either by the Health Ministry or by the Finance Ministry. The nurses had demanded that the nurses’ entry pay should be increased to Rs 5400/- from the current Rs 4600/- per month.
After the strike began, the Delhi government declared the strike illegal under the Essential Service Maintenance Act (ESMA). New Delhi, the National Capital seemed to have been hit the hardest by this indefinite nurses’ strike, especially due to an upsurge in Dengue and Chikunguniya cases. Due to the strike, hospitals had to call off many routine operations, scheduled surgeries had been postponed, OPD timings were curtailed, and more.
Meanwhile, the Centre had constituted a committee headed by the Finance Secretary to look into the nurse’s demands, seeking remediation of issues related to salary and allowances. To find a way out of this crisis, it was announced that the Commission, headed by the finance secretary, would meet with the representatives of nurses’ unions on September 12.
As per the decision, of the nurses’ nine demands, seven demands have been met. Although, seven of the nurses’ demands have been resolved, the strike still leaves many cities affected included Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra. It had also affected the working of PGI Chandigarh, though AIIMS wasn’t affected by the strike.
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