NEW DELHI: City nurses on Monday highlighted a glaring disparity in pay between nurses working under Delhi government-run hospitals and their counterparts in Centre-run hospitals. According to the nursing staff, the nursing interns in city hospitals receive only Rs 500 as monthly stipend while at Central hospitals, this amount is Rs 13,500.
City nurses continue to get low stipend despite the Central government order issued in 2022 which stipulated all states and UTs to pay Rs 13,500 to nursing interns.
Anita Panwar, President, All India Government Nurses Federation (AIGNF), said, due to a discord between the Centre and the city government, the nursing interns are being discriminated against.
She said, “In last 40 years, the nurses’ stipend under city hospitals remained Rs 500 only while the stipend of medical and dental students grew to Rs 30,000. The increased stipend is given only in a handful of institutions under the Centre. The Delhi government says they did not receive the circular regarding the enhancement in stipend from the Central government and doesn’t have the jurisdiction over financial matters related to pays and allowances. Then how are the stipend of MBBS and BDS interns in city government hospitals at par with their counterparts in central hospitals?”
As the order is yet to be implemented by the Delhi government even after two years, nursing associations are sharing their plight with the Union health ministry.
In a letter to Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the AIGNF said the increased stipend for nursing student’s is restricted to central government institutes only. The demand for higher pay is growing after a recent order by the Centre which directed all institutes to increase the stipend of medical and dental interns to Rs 30,000.
“Generally, these decisions are implemented all over India. However, not in the cases of nursing students. In the present situation, nursing institutes under the same university, gives differential stipend to nursing interns. But, medical interns in institutes funded either by Centre or city government are paid equally,” the letter read, requesting the Union minister to respond to the concerns and intervene in the matter.