Nurses end their strike

Abhish K Bose Delhi

The four day strike by the nurses of various Metro Group of hospitals in Delhi came to an end after the hospital management acceded to all of their demands. The nurses were demanding a better deal from the management that included cancellation of the bond system that forces them to work on the same salary for three years. If these nurses left the hospital before the expiry of the bond period, they were expected to pay money to the management and if unable to do so, the management would confiscate their certificates.

Robin, a nurse and who was leading the strike, told Hardnews, "The management accepted our demand for an increased salary of Rs 8500 as basic pay. They have also consented to cancel the bond system and will return the certificates unconditionally." The management also decided to give experience certificate which wasn't the case earlier. These nurses were earlier paid a paltry sum of Rs 4,500 by the management. "It is extremely difficult to survive in Delhi with such a paltry sum of money," Robin said. 

The standoff came to a conclusion after a long discussion between Usha Krishnakumar, President, Nurses Welfare Association, and representatives of the Metro Hospital management. For the last four days nearly 500 nurses belonging to different Metro hospitals across Delhi and NCR region were on strike.