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‘No work, no pay’ for striking nurses, says Punjab health minister
The nursing staff of 3 govt med colleges and hospitals have been on strike for last 15 days over grade pay
Health minister Dr Balbir Singh on Thursday warned the protesting nurses to resume duties or face action.
Nursing staff at three government medical colleges and hospitals have been on indefinite strike for the past 15 days, defying the state government’s decision to invoke the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA) over the demand for the restoration of the ₹4,600 grade pay.
Calling the strike ‘illegal’, the minister said that the nurses would not be paid for the strike period as they had already violated the ESMA.
“It had come to my notice that protesting nurses attempted to shut down an operating theatre (OT). If any patient dies because of such actions, an FIR will be registered,” he said, adding that nursing students had to be roped in to ensure that patient care was not affected during the strike.
“Around 5,000 nursing students who come to government hospitals for training will be deployed. They will work without remuneration. Patient care will not be affected at all,” he said. His statement came two days after the All-India Government Nurses Federation (AIGNF) wrote to Union health minister JP Nadda, raising concerns over the Punjab government’s decision to assign nursing students to manage patient care. The federation letter pointed out that according to the Indian Nursing Council (INC) guidelines, students are trainees and must work strictly under the direct supervision of registered nurses.
The minister refuted the claims of nursing staff and said the students were qualified to handle patient care.
“These students are qualified and degree holders. They have already completed the General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course,” he added.
Calling the allegation of trying to shut down OT baseless, the United Nurses Association, Punjab, said the health minister was misleading the public, adding that they have been protesting outside the hospital since day one.
Describing the existing pay structure as discriminatory, the nurses’ association argued that it does not reflect the workload and responsibilities handled by staff in tertiary care hospitals.
The protest by regular nurses centres on a long-standing pay anomaly affecting those recruited on or after July 17, 2020. Union leaders claim that nearly 1,500 nurses are currently being paid around ₹29,000 per month under a ₹2,800 grade pay. They have been demanding an upgrade to ₹4,600 grade pay, which would raise their salaries to approximately ₹44,900 per month, along with reclassification of their posts from Grade C to Grade B.
