THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nursing is one sector where male staffers are subjected to more exploitation than their female counterparts. According to Siby, state vice-president of United Nurses Association, male nurses are less preferred by hospitals since the managements fear they will form unions.
“Many of our colleagues are under the threat of termination. Some hospitals had started terminating male nurses after the 2013 strike,” he said.
Arun, 31, staff nurse with a leading private hospital said he gets only Rs 12,000 monthly salary despite 12 years of service. My wife too is a private hospital nurse. “It’s really hard for us to lead a decent life. Next year I’ve to send my child to school and things will really get difficult afterwards,” he said.
Vinoop, another nurse, says he had once left the profession due to less wages. “Unfortunately, I could not find any other job with my nursing degree. So I joined a hospital a year ago,” he said.Hospitals employ only a few male nurses and hence they are assigned with hectic schedules, he said. “We are also assigned to home care services and have to accompany patients to their home after discharge,” he added.