CHENNAI: Over 100 nurses serving in private hospitals protested near Valluvar Kottam on Sunday demanding increase in pay as per a Supreme Court order. Representatives from various nurses associations from Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Karur, Salem, Coimbatore and Madurai joined the protest. They threatened an indefinite strike if private hospitals refuse to abide by SC verdict.
“The SC recommendation is that the basic wage will be a minimum of Rs 20,000 a month for nurses working in less than 50-bed hospitals,” said M Irulandi, president, Global Nurses Association of Tamil Nadu (GNAT).In the case of 50- to 100-bed hospitals, the salary should be a minimum of 75 per cent of the pay being paid to government hospital nurses. The mid-sized hospitals with 100 to 200 beds should pay 90 per cent of what the State hospital nurses get.
Larger centres with 200 beds or more must pay salaries on a par with State government nurses, depending on their grade and experience, he explained.“But, State is yet to implement it. We have given a representation to hospital managements and also to the government. We will go on indefinite strike if our demands are not met within a month,” said A Raj, State general secretary, GNAT.