CHENNAI: Hundreds of government hospital nurses protesting at a Primary Health Centre in Guduvanchery, Chennai, were detained by the police on Tuesday, even as the stir entered day six with no breakthrough in talks with the government.
The nurses, who are members of the Tamil Nadu Nurses Empowerment Association, resumed their protest after talks with Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Monday ended without a resolution. The protesting nurses alleged the police detained them in the morning and kept moving them in vehicles on the outskirts of Chennai till evening. Their key demand is the regularisation of services of around 8,000 nurses recruited through the Medical Services Recruitment Board since 2015.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tamil Nadu branch, has extended its support to the nurses. In a statement, the IMA said it was sad to know that nurses who have been working on contractual appointments for the last eight years are being forced to protest for job regularisation. Terming the agitation fair and justified, the association urged the government to consider the nurses’ demands on humanitarian grounds and fulfil the demands soon. N Subin, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Nurses Empowerment Association, said, “The police started detaining the nurses in the early morning hours from the protesting venue and kept moving them around in vehicles. But, the protest will continue.”