Nursing staff of Valmiki hospital join ongoing stir over unpaid salaries
The contractual nursing staff at Kasturba Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital Tuesday announced that they, too, will join strike from November 5 (Thursday) if their demand for the immediate release of pending salaries is not met.
The 160-strong nursing staff of Valmiki Infectious Disease Hospital, run by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North DMC), Tuesday joined the ongoing strike by health workers over non-payment of salaries for the past three to four months. The contractual nursing staff at Kasturba Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital Tuesday announced that they, too, will join strike from November 5 (Thursday) if their demand for the immediate release of pending salaries is not met.
The regular nursing staff of Kasturba hospital, Hindu Rao hospital, Girdharilal Maternity hospital, Rajan Babu TB hospital are already on an indefinite strike since Monday. All these hospitals are under the North DMC.
BL Sharma, president, Kasturba Hospital Nurses Union, said the nursing staff of Valmiki hospital has also joined the strike over non-payment of salaries. “It is unfortunate that health workers have to go on an indefinite strike during a pandemic, but the civic body’s apathy towards us has compelled us to do so. They should clear three months’ pending salaries of nurses and four months’ pending salaries of other paramedic employees immediately,” Sharma said.
Indu Jamwal, president, Hindu Rao Hospital Nurses Union, said until now, only permanent nurses and other health workers were on strike but from Tuesday, even contractual nursing staff have joined the stir.
“Contractual nursing staff at Hindu Rao and Kasturba hospitals, who were working until now, will join our indefinite strike from November 5. They have also not been paid for four months. We will not call off our strike until our dues are cleared,” she said.
Nurses at hospitals across north corporation have not been paid salaries for the months of August, September and October while other paramedic employees have not been given salaries since June 2020.
Jai Prakash, mayor, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, “We are trying to arrange funds so that we can pay at least two months’ salary to the agitating employees by Diwali. I appeal to the health workers that they call off their strike.”
Doctors in north corporation-run hospitals had also gone on strike last month over non-payment of salaries and they withdrew the agitation only after the corporation paid their salaries till September. The nursing and other auxillary staff have remained unpaid, a nursing staff on strike said.