KOZHIKODE: Healthcare services at several major private hospitals in Kozhikode were significantly affected on Monday after nurses affiliated with the United Nurses Association (UNA) launched a strike demanding improved wages and benefits. The agitation, part of a statewide protest, calls for a minimum basic monthly salary of Rs 40,000 for nurses working in private hospitals.
On Monday, nurses gathered outside the Kozhikode district collectorate and staged a dharna. The agitation led to disruptions in services at major private hospitals in the city, including Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH), where many nurses stayed away from work. A group of nurses also protested outside Baby Memorial Hospital.
According to UNA district functionary Jishnu Ashok, some newly recruited nurses were allegedly confined inside rooms and pressured to continue working. He claimed that certain hospital representatives also threatened and verbally abused union members during the protest.
The strike was widely observed in other hospitals across the city, including Iqraa Hospital, Aster MIMS Hospital, Meitra Hospital, Fathima Hospital, Malabar Hospitals, Red Crescent Hospital in Feroke, and Santhi Hospital in Omassery.
Tension escalated further at Baby Memorial Hospital after two supervising nursing staff members were reportedly terminated for supporting the strike. The situation grew tense when newly joined nurses allegedly informed protest leaders that they had been confined inside a hall within the hospital premises.
The incident triggered a confrontation between union leaders and hospital officials. Meanwhile, the Baby Memorial Hospital management rejected allegations that nurses were assaulted or manhandled during the protest.
Meanwhile, similar protests were reported in Kannur district where nurses continued their agitation on Monday. More than 400 nurses staged a protest outside Baby Memorial Hospital in Kannur.
