Dr Shanthi, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Health Workers Association, said nurses were dismissed from service without any warning despite risking their lives during the peak of COVID-19.
Nurses under the banner of Tamil Nadu Medical Recruitment Board Nurses Empowerment Association held a protest before the Madurai Collectorate on Monday, January 2 seeking job security for nurses who were hired in 2020 when COVID-19 was at its peak. Reports state that nearly 50 nurses were at the demonstration and raised slogans seeking permanent employment and clearing salary dues.
Dr Shanthi, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Health Workers Association, while speaking to TNM the nurses have been protesting because they were dismissed from service without any warning despite risking their lives to be on the frontline during the peak of COVID-19. She said, “Many of these nurses were newly married when they joined the COVID-19 duty. Some of them were pregnant. They did not even have time to contemplate if they wanted to join the service or not because the candidates were told that their positions would not be made permanent if they did not join within three days of the announcement of the openings. This is condemnable.”
For prospective nurses to work in Tamil Nadu, they will have to take a Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) exam and once they clear it, they will be hired on contract, Dr Shanthi explained. As newer vacancies for permanent nurses arise, the ones hired on the contract will be given permanent postings within two years. “In the same manner, candidates had appeared for the 2019 MRB exam and nearly 3000 of them were hired on a contractual basis, but they were not given permanent postings. The nurses are paid Rs 14,000 as a monthly salary when they are hired contractually. There has been no hike despite them putting in nearly two years now,” Dr Shanthi said. Nearly 99% of these nurses have not been paid their salaries for the past six months, she alleged.
Dr Sudha said despite 3,000 permanent nurse vacancies, 2,472 nurses were dismissed from service, adding that the government can easily accommodate these nurses in permanent positions. When asked why the government decided to dismiss them instead of giving them permanent positions, Dr Sudha said, “Only the Health Minister can answer that. The opposition is alleging that the ruling government will get more money through bribes when newer people are hired. The government has to ensure that the nurses are given permanent postings and fairly compensated.”
Source: The News Minute