Nurses plan stir as Maharashtra government to outsource recruitment

MUMBAI: Nurses and nursing students protested on Monday against the state government's order of April 13 to outsource the hiring of 1,749 of the 4,500 vacancies across the state.Nurses at government medical colleges and hospitals boycotted duties from 7.30am to 8.30am on Monday, as announced by Maharashtra State Nurses Association, and will continue to do so on Tuesday and Wednesday. If their demand against outsourcing is not met, they will completely stop work on Thursday and Friday. The body, with nearly 25,000 members, has warned of an indefinite strike from Saturday if there's no positive response.

"We are opposing the entire GR [government resolution]. Both, the DMER and the department of health services, have issued the same GR, stating that nurses will be hired through an outsourced agency. This will not just mean lower pay, but also no promotions as we move up in experience," said Arun Kadam, MSNA executive president. "We don't want any outsourcing. Vacancies should only be filled in the regularised manner," said Manisha Shinde, MSNA president.

"The government shouldn't think of outsourcing nursing jobs and must recruit as per protocols laid down. There is no pandemic crisis right now that the government has to resort to mass hiring through outsourced agencies," said Arti Kumbhare of the association. She added that besides filling up vacant posts, the government also needs to create more nursing positions to reach the ideal nurse-patient ratio.

Some nursing college principals alleged nurses were being outsourced through agencies in Nashik, but while the payment due to freshers was Rs 25,000 a month, they were only paid Rs 18,000, and the agency took 100% of the first month's salary.

A nurse at JJ Hospital said that often entire critical care units of 20-30 patients are managed by two or three nurses whereas the ideal ratio is supposed to be 1:1. "This puts nurses under enormous pressure. Many have developed hypertension, diabetes and other complications due to stress," said the nurse.

Another point of opposition is the recent decision to transfer nurses every six years. Given that 90% of the nursing workforce is women, the association has said that it will disrupt their family lives. "Transfers should be voluntary. How can we uproot ourselves and shift base every six years, leaving children and families behind?" said Kumbhare who added that the GR should be withdrawn.

Dr Pallavi Saple, dean of JJ Hospital, said they intend to rope in nursing students if full-timers go on strike.

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