This is a petition for the survival & future of Staff Nurses & Student Nurses in India. Nurses form the backbone of any medical services or patient care in the health sector. But in India, this important section of workers are highly exploited, with lack of respect and dignity at workplaces and more importantly paid extremely low salaries with lack of job security. 

Despite shortage of nurses and other staff in government run hospitals, the government deliberately follows a totally unscientific method of recruitment which keeps the majority of aspirants from getting a post in the government services and at the same time recruits nurses on a contract labour at extremely low wages to fill some of the gaps.

In the private sector, the nurses are confronted with extremely low paying jobs (between Rs. 3000 – Rs. 4000 a month) as against the labour standard of around Rs. 6000 (which is also pathetically low). Even the most experienced ones only get paid about Rs. 8000 – Rs. 9000. Many have to sign a 2-3 year bonded contract that inevitably binds the nurses to the hospital and breaking the contract often entails shelling out Rs. 50,000-Rs. 100,000 for obtaining their release. Otherwise, all their certificates are held by the hospital management.

Most of the nurses are forced to work beyond the mandatory 8 hrs working day, to more than 10 to 11 hrs. Apart from low wages, none of the nurses are given employment benefits like Provident Fund (PF) and gratuity. The nurses are not even given health coverage despite facing higher risk of infections.

Another aspect that does not find much of a mention anywhere is the human rights violation in the form of sexual harassment to female nurses. There is also the lack of work place ethics and respect for the nurse profession, with harassment by either doctors or the management by constantly accusing them of dereliction of duty. With the labour department and government neglecting the problems faced by the nurses and lack of unions fighting for the nurse’s cause, many are forced to silently bare these injustices.

Our demands:

• Trade Union rights for all the nurses
• End the bond system. Stop confiscation of educational and experience certificates by the hospital management at the time of resignation
• No to workplace harassment by doctors and the hospital management. All nurses should be treated with respect and dignity.
• Standardised Wages at-least according to the minimum wages fixed by the Government. Wages to be revised and adjusted to the cost of living, with mandatory yearly increments.
• 8 hr working day, overtime allowances, yearly leave and other social security benefits. 
• Health coverage for all nurses to be borne by the hospital management.
• End the contract system in government hospitals. All nurses should be recruited on a permanent basis and remove all bureaucratic impediments in recruiting nurses in government run hospitals.
• 30 minutes mandatory break on 8 hr shift; two 30 minutes break for 12 hr shifts.
• Day off after 4 night shifts or five 12 hr day shifts.

As Nurses, we understand the importance of our job in present situation which keeping us away from the thought of a massive shutdown strike all over India. However, we are more determined and thriving for acquiring our rights now & won't hesitate to go with any extend to get what we are privileged for.

Please do the needful and contact us immediately.

Nurses Forum fb Group

Admin (e-mail : nursesforum@yahoo.com)