Nurses and laboratory technicians of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in the city continued their protest on the sixth consecutive day, compelling patients’ attendants to double as nurses.
The nurses on the hospital’s payroll refused to withdraw their protest and doctors on duty continued to work overtime.
Nurses on strike, several of them working with the hospital for close to a decade, said they were forced to continue their protest as they were on the brink of losing their jobs. About 175 nurses and 25 lab technicians have been protesting against the hospital’s recent move advertising for fresh jobs of contract nurses. “Ours is an annual contract. Every year, the hospital renews our contracts. All of a sudden, for the same job, they have advertised for 150 positions, when there are experienced contract workers serving at the hospital,” said Ningappa, president, Karnataka Independent Nurses’ Association.
However, K.B. Linge Gowda, director, Kidwai, maintained that there was no inconvenience cause to any patients as the hospital had brought in nurses from outside to fill the gap.
