Inside AIIMS New Delhi after the nurses union called a strike this afternoon.
New Delhi:
A critical patient ward in the country’s largest medical center, AIIMS, appears empty: there are only patients and their assistants, but no nurses. The nurses have gone on an indefinite strike citing 23 long-standing demands, including clarity on pay anomalies and a freeze on contract staffing.
The strike comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when patients need extra care.
The Director of the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) today made an emotional appeal to his 5,000-strong nursing staff, who in the afternoon declared an indefinite strike.
“I am very proud of the AIIMS family for the tremendous work done during COVID-19 … the nation is proud. Unfortunately, at this time of pandemic, the nurses union has gone on strike,” said AIIMS Director , Prof Randeep Guleria said in a video message to the AIIMS Nurses Union.
“The nurses union had filed 23 lawsuits. Almost all of the lawsuits were met by the AIIMS administration and the government,” said Mr. Guleria.
It evoked Florence Nightingale, whose 200th anniversary is being celebrated by the WHO by naming the year 2020 “The International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.” “This year we celebrate 200 years of Florence Nightingale, the lady with the lamp, who worked tirelessly. Today we look to the nurses to work tirelessly for those who suffered during the pandemic, ”he said.
However, the striking nurses did not seem to be in the mood to give in.
Inside AIIMS New Delhi after the nurses union called a strike this afternoon.
A union spokesperson told NDTV that nurses had been making these demands for a long time. Last year, the government had reportedly called them into a meeting and assured them of a solution to their problems, only to postpone them indefinitely.
“Until recently, we were told that our demands were being considered. Among them, the key was payments from the Sixth Committee on Payments and the hiring of contract workers. Now we were informed that interviews were held today to recruit contract workers.” , Fameer CK The general secretary of the AIIMS Nurses Union, told NDTV.
“We have the utmost respect for Professor Randeep Guleria. But if he claims that all of our demands have already been met, then what were all the recent guarantees about?” I ask.
For his part, the AIIMS director said that there have been multiple meetings with the union, explaining to them his erroneous interpretation of the recommendations of the VI Payments Commission. However, he said, the government was willing to sympathetically view his demands as new.
“However, it seems inappropriate that when a country is fighting a pandemic … the nurses union has decided to go on strike … I call on all of you to get back to work and really help us get ahead.” Said Professor Guleria.
.
