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Nurses’ association calls off statewide indefinite strike after written assurance
The MSNA, headquartered in Latur, had been on a statewide agitation since July 18 to protest persistent pay discrepancies under the 7th Pay Commission and the recent government resolution issued on June 6, 2025, regarding contractual recruitment of nurses.
Pune: After a week-long protest, the Maharashtra State Nurses Association (MSNA) on Thursday called off the indefinite strike after a written assurance was given by the government regarding meeting their demands.
The MSNA, headquartered in Latur, had been on a statewide agitation since July 18 to protest persistent pay discrepancies under the 7th Pay Commission and the recent government resolution issued on June 6, 2025, regarding contractual recruitment of nurses. As many as over 25,000 nurses refused to work at the state government-run hospitals. This had affected healthcare services at the public healthcare facilities, with elective surgeries postponed and OPD services not fully functional.
This agitation resembled a similar 10-day strike in May 2022 when the MNSA had opposed contractual recruitment of nurses and succeeded in getting the decision rolled back. The association, this time, had again demanded that recruitment should be on a permanent basis.
It also demanded that salary discrepancies among staff nurses, nursing tutors, and staff in-charge be resolved, along with an increase in the stipend provided to nursing students and an increase in the allowances provided to nurses from the government. Besides, it also demanded that priority must be given to fill up 50% of all nursing staff posts in the state that are vacant.
Sumitra Tote, general secretary, MSNA, said, “After the government gave us written assurance to meet our demands, we have called off the strike and all nurses will resume duty from Friday. The Medical Education minister, Hasan Mushriff, on Tuesday held a meeting with the nurses association during which the demands were met with positive verbal assurance, but the union had demanded written assurance for the long-pending demands,” she said. Tote further said that on Wednesday the government gave them written assurance, but they had demanded some changes in this assurance.
“The secretary of the Medical Education department responded sensitively to our demands and held another meeting on Thursday. The secretary appreciated the work of the nurses and their contribution to the healthcare services. The revised written assurance was given to us on Thursday evening, after which the strike was called off,” said the secretary of MNSA.
At city-based B J Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon General Hospital (SGH), over 350 nurses had joined the strike, while at Baramati Medical College, over 300 nurses took part. They, too, had demanded a halt on the contractual recruitment of nurses, and called for parity in wages and an increase in allowances.
Dr Yellappa Jadhav, medical superintendent, SGH, said that they had taken the help of Bharati Hospital, Dr D Y Patil Hospital, Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to send their student nurses and nursing staff. “We managed to get over 350 nurses, with whose help the shortage of nursing staff was managed. We got the nurses in a phased manner. The planned surgeries were postponed during the strike, while routine services were marginally hampered,” he said.
