Chennai: Chaos prevailed on Director of Medical Services (DMS) campus in Teynampet on Monday after more than 2,000 nurses gathered to stage protest against contract based recruitment, demanding time-scale pay.
Nurses recruited by Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) have put forth various demands to the Director of Medical Services to regularize the services and grant time-scale pay akin to that of doctors and paramedical staff working under DMS.
Nurses from the MRB Nurses’ Empowerment Association had on November 22 discussed the issue with DMS officials. Officials had assured to consider the demands asking for two weeks' time to present the issue to the state health department officials.
But in a dramatic move on Monday, nurses from 32 districts across the state along with district-in-charges and secretary gathered at 5.00 am at the DMS campus. Police personnel had to intervene to disperse them from the main road that blocked the traffic.
More than 500 nurses were detained by the police and released later. “We wanted regularization of services and subjecting it to the availability of vacancies is unacceptable to the nurses," said Nishantni, a nurse at the protest.
“We want regularization of services with a time-scale pay on an eight-hour shift basis. We do not want recruitment through outsourcing on a temporary or contract basis as then the salary is only Rs 17,500. Ideally wages should be Rs 34,800 at hospitals with less than 200 beds based on universal minimum wages system,” said S Aishwarya, joint secretary, MRB Nurses’ Empowerment Association.
When contacted the Director of Medical Services, Dr Inba Sekar said that around 4,000 nurses did not join duty on Monday and more than 2,000 nurses staged the protest without any notice at the campus. Health secretary J. Radhakrishnan said the state health department is ready to hold talks with the nurses and consider their demands.
