News / India

Thousands of Indian nurses, paramedics go on strike amid pandemic

Tuesday, 15 December 2020 6:58 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 December 2020 6:58 PM ]

A photo by Indian media shows protesting health workers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, on December 15, 2020.

Over 5,000 Indian nurses and paramedics have gone on an indefinite strike demanding better salaries and working conditions, severely disrupting patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protesting nursing staff and health workers gathered at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a sprawling complex in New Delhi, on Tuesday to put forth their demands before the government and the AIIMS authority.

The demands included the abolishment of gender-based reservation in the recruiting process of nursing officers and contractual appointments, fixing an “anomaly” in their salary structure, and improving hospital accommodation.

AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria on Monday evening appealed to the nurses to return to work. He said the strike was “inappropriate and unfortunate” during the coronavirus pandemic.

India’s health ministry has already warned of action and said non-compliance with the “code of conduct” will be treated as an offense under the Disaster Management Act.

Meanwhile, in the many AIIMS wards, doctors complain the walkout has forced them to do the work of the nursing staff as well.

A nurse representative said they tried to avoid this strike during the pandemic but the government had left us with no choice.

“Majority of our demands were raised couple of years back. In October 2019, most of the demands were accepted by government and we were told they will be fulfilled by December [2019] but unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” said Fameer CK, general secretary of the AIIMS Nurses’ Union.

In March, during a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked Indians to express the nation’s gratitude toward the health workers on the front lines of the fight against the disease.

“But this is how we are actually being treated,” Fameer said. “We approached the AIIMS authorities for a meeting on Monday afternoon but were told that not a single demand will be fulfilled. They were not even ready to listen to our demands and said if you want to go on a strike, go ahead.”

The new coronavirus has infected a total of about 10 million people and killed 144,000across India so far.

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