Ananthapuri Hospital nurses not to join stir

Hospital agrees to pay revised wages

The indefinite strike proposed by nurses and all hospital employees from June 4 in Ananthapuri Hospitals was called off after the hospital management agreed to pay the new revised wages as per the minimum wages notification order of April 23, from this month.

Nurses’ unions and trade unions representing other hospital employees had proposed to go on an indefinite strike from June 4 in five major private hospitals in the district, demanding the implementation of revised wages.

The strike at Ananthapuri Hospitals was called off following the conciliatory talks led by Deputy Labour Commissioner M. Shajeena here on Saturday.

The talks will continue on Monday, with regard to the strike proposed in other private hospitals, namely, KIMS, PRS Hospitals, SUT Hospital Pattom and SK Hospital.

No OP clinics on Monday

Meanwhile, Trivandrum Hospitals’ Coordination Council (THCC) has declared that none of the private hospitals in the district will conduct outpatient (OP) clinics on June 4, in protest against the “flash strikes” called by hospital employees, which are putting patients to difficulties.

Emergency services, planned surgeries and in-patient service in private hospitals will not be affected.

In a statement issued here, the THCC said the hospitals had been forced to take this dire step to draw the attention of the government and the public to the need for peaceful environment in hospitals.

It said that the flash strike by the entire nurses and hospital employees in Cosmopolitan Hospital last week had led to much chaos and that several in-patients in serious condition had to be shifted to other hospitals. Such strikes which put patients’ lives at peril should not be allowed and the government should declare hospitals as peace zone, THCC demanded.