Delhi: AIIMS nurses strike indefinitely over salary payments
Nurses and paramedic staff at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Monday decided to go on an indefinite strike over the payment of salaries. The staff has presented a list of 23 long-standing demands. The strike comes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when healthcare workers are already spread thin treating the rising number of patients.
Government procrastinated after giving assurances last year: Nurses Union
A spokesperson for the Nurses Union told NDTV that they had been pushing for the demands for a long time. The government had called them for a meeting last year and assured them a solution, but allegedly procrastinated. Speaking to the publication, the General Secretary of the AIIMS Nurses Union, Fameer CK, said that they were told their demands were being considered.
'Interviews to meet demand for contractual workers held just today'
Fameer told NDTV, "Till recently, we were told our demands were being considered. Key among them were the Sixth Pay Commission's payouts and the hiring of contractual workers. Now we've been informed that interviews were held just today to recruit contractual workers." "If [AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria] claims all our demands have already been met, then what were all the recent assurances about?"
AIIMS Director appeals to nurses to resume work
Earlier on Monday, Dr. Guleria had appealed to the 5,000-strong nursing staff to end their stir after they announced their strike. He said the government will consider their demands, which he claimed were fresh ones. He also said that multiple meetings have been held with the Union to explain to them their incorrect interpretation of the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations.
'Inappropriate for nurses to strike amid pandemic'
In a video message to the Union, Dr. Guleria had said, "The Nurses Union had put in 23 demands. Almost all the demands have been met by the AIIMS administration and the government." Appealing to the nurses to resume work, he had added, "It seems inappropriate that when a country is fighting a pandemic...the Nurses Union has decided to go on a strike."
