Nurses federation postpones strike after Nadda's assurance

The All India Government Nurses Federation on Monday postponed its countrywide indefinite strike after assurances by Health Minister J.P. Nadda of recommending the federation's demand to the cabinet secretary.

Nurses at all government hospitals in the country were to go on an indefinite strike from March 15, after no efforts were made by the health ministry in spite of repeated assurances of looking into the federation's demand.

"Health Minister J.P. Nadda has accepted that the nurses are being neglected in the Seventh Pay Commission and their demand and justifications are genuine. He said he will recommend our demands to the Empowered Committee of secretariat headed by the cabinet secretary after a final brief meeting with the federation on March 15," said a statement from the federation.

"Keeping this in notice, the scheduled indefinite strike is postponed till further decision by the health minister," it said.

The nurses have demanded increase in nursing, risk and night duty allowances as per the Seventh Pay Commission, federation secretary general G.K. Khurana said here.

A communication by the commission informed the federation that the recommendations won't be implementable for them.

The nurses had held a relay strike from February 11 to 27 with mass casual leave on February 26, leading to delay in over 1,000 surgeries.

"We want our payment to be as per the Seventh Pay Commission. Until now, all pay commissions have been implemented without any problems. Why is the Seventh Pay Commission not being implemented for the nurses?" Aruna Jangia, a nurse with GTB hospital, told IANS.