Report by the Correspondent of Mazdoor Ekta Committee
The nurses of Hindu Rao Hospital in Delhi are struggling for their legitimate demands in response to the call of the All India Government Nurses Federation. All the nurses at the hospital began expressing their protest by wearing black bands from 28 September. They are now holding a two-hour token strike every day from 5 to 11 October. They have announced that if their demands are not met, they will go on an indefinite strike from 12 October.
The protesting nurses say that there are 300 sanctioned posts for nurses in the hospital, of which 238 are vacant. However, the government is not making permanent appointments to fill these posts.
This is the largest municipal hospital in Delhi. It has a total capacity of 980 beds. The work of 300 nurses is being handled by just 62 nurses, leaving each nurse responsible for caring for 40 to 50 patients. As a result, the nurses have to face many difficulties. Patients are unable to receive proper care।
The Federation said that 122 nursing staff members have been promoted to the posts of Senior Nursing Officer, but despite this, they are not being assigned any work. The Federation has demanded that they be immediately assigned duties in their respective posts।
The Nursing Federation has submitted a memorandum of demands to the administration and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, demanding that regular government recruitment be carried out immediately to fill the 238 vacant nursing posts, that the staffing pattern be revised in accordance with international standards, that interference by non-nursing officers in nursing and administrative work be stopped immediately, and that leadership be entrusted only to qualified nursing cadre personnel.