KOCHI: Alleging violation in the terms of the agreement reached between the nurses and the hospital, the nurses at the Lakeshore Hospital launched a fresh strike on Monday. This month alone, the nurses and the management had held three meetings all of which failed. Under the mediation of the Labour Department a fresh meeting will be held on Tuesday.“While the hospital authorities had agreed that they will not dismiss anyone involved in the strike they have already dismissed two. The fate of the rest of the people who are in probation hangs in the balance. At present, there are more than 250 nurses who are on probation. While it was agreed that the hospital will consider our experience from the day of our joining, it is being calculated only after our confirmation. “Many of us have spent several years in the hospital before getting confirmation. As such, no one is getting the salary that was agreed upon,” said Remya Rani, branch secretary,UNA, Lakeshore Hospital.Denying the statements, the hospital management said: “There is no question of dismissal of nurses. There are 18 trainee nurses at the hospital. They were not recruited but were taken in on their specific request to gain experience here. “At the end of their term, they have to go. The nurses who are on probation have no legal right to go on strike but we still have not dismissed the nurses on probation here,” said Lakeshore Hospital MD Dr Philip Augustine. Meanwhile, a token strike was held at the Sunrise Hospital in the city. The immediate cause of the strike was the dismissal of two nurses, one who was the state-level coordinator of the Indian Registered Nurses Association. The hospital has agreed to reinstate one and transfer the other, but the union has stuck to the demand to reinstate the two. Another key demand from the union is to take action against a particular doctor who has allegedly misbehaved with a female nursing staff.
Comments
0 comment