Contractual Nurses Protest Against Reduction in Pay

HYDERABAD: Around 350 contractual nurses of the Gandhi hospital staged a protest in the campus on Monday against the reduced payments as per GO 1134.

According to staff nurses, the government had increased the salary for outsourced nurses from Rs 25, 140 to Rs 32, 682 during the Covid period and had now reversed it to the previous pay structure through the GO. The protestors demanded enhanced salary together with the 30 per cent hike promised during the Covid period.

A. Dhanalalakshmi, a contractual nurse in Gandhi Hospital for 16 years, said that the reduction in salary would come as a huge financial setback to them. Many of them did not receive salary for the last four months. Those who did, got the reduced amounts, she said.

Venkatesh Nayak, president, Telangana Frontline Warriors Association, told Deccan Chronicle, “Our salaries were increased during Covid. However, the government overturned its decision and reduced the salary as per the GO 1134. We are demanding the 30 per cent hike under the Pay Revision Commission, which is anyway much less than what the regular staff nurses get”.

They also demanded regularisation of services as was promised by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao during the Covid pandemic period.

Another staff nurse, R. Sangeeta, said that after having put their own lives at risk during the pandemic they are now being ill-treated. The staff nurses said that they would meet health minister T. Harish Rao demanding implementation of their demands, failing which they would launch a state-wide protest.

Hospital services were not affected by the strike. Gandhi Hospital superintendent Dr M. Raja Rao told Deccan Chronicle that the leave of regular staff nurses had been cancelled to make up for the absence of contract staf. In addition BSc nursing students were called for duty.