Private Hospitals Strike Again: Indefinite Work Stoppage from 26th

Kochi: Private hospital nurses are on strike again. The United Nurses Association (UNA) has announced that they will begin an indefinite strike on the 26th of this month, as the management is not willing to compromise on their demands, including salary revision. The organisation also stated that it will hold a symbolic strike tomorrow ahead of the full-scale strike.

The current crisis is due to the management's rejection of the longstanding demand for an increase in the nurses' basic salary. The High Court intervened after the strike intensified earlier, paving the way for talks between management and the UNA. However, the talks failed when the management took a firm stand against salary revision.

The main complaint of the UNA is that many private hospitals are not paying even the basic salary as prescribed by the Supreme Court. A symbolic strike will be held tomorrow (March 25) ahead of the indefinite strike, which may affect the functioning of hospitals.

The private healthcare sector is likely to come to a standstill when nurses go on a full-scale strike from the 26th. The organisation has not yet clarified whether emergency departments will be exempt from the strike.

The last time nurses went on strike, the functioning of inpatient wards was disrupted, and surgeries had to be postponed, which became major news. If the management continues to be stubborn, the UNA has decided to intensify the strike. There is also a strong demand for urgent government intervention on the matter.