Nurses put off strike on min's assurance

NAGPUR: A day ahead of their proposed indefinite strike, nurses working in government medical colleges across the state postponed their plan after representatives of the Maharashtra Government Nurses' Association (MGNA) held a discussion with medical education minister Jitendra Awhad on Monday morning.
"The minister agreed to fulfil our most important demand to restart the discontinued general nursing and midwifery (GNM) course. He told our representatives that considering natural calamities that are taking place during monsoon, our help might be required and the strike may weigh down on medical services in the state during these dire times," said Prabha Bhajan, the secretary of Maharashtra Government Vidarbha Nurses' Federation (MGVNF).
The minister has promised to fulfil some of the main demands of the nurses. Earlier, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) too had made similar assurances and promises to the nurses. But, the DMER failed to keep its promise despite appointing a committee to look into the matter that prompted the nurses to announce the strike. The first strike of MGNA in February was called off in two days after DMER gave the association written assurances of fulfilling their demands within three months.
Other demands the minister accepted included stopping contractual recruitment and reversing transfer orders of around 400 nurses. Equal pay for nurses working in hospitals run by the Centre and state, including special allowance as per the Sixth Pay Commission, extending facilities like grade pay and pension scheme to all nurses and better security for nurses against violence inflicted by patients' relatives are some other demands.