Stir failed, private hospital nurses

After negotiating for their demands with hospital management for the past two months, members of the Indian Nurses Association, Maharashtra, (INA) have now decided to take the legal route for a solution. Among other demands, the association, which has two thousand members across ten private hospitals in the city, has wants 35 per cent reservation for male nurses in each of these hospitals.

"Many hospitals refuse to hire male nurses saying female patients need to be handled by female nurses. The same should apply in the case of male patients. We have demanded a 35 per cent reservation for male nurses in all private hospitals," Riju Poykail, president of the INA said.

The nurses have also demanded that the bond system be done away with. As per admission rules in most private hospitals, nurses are expected to sign a bond stating they will serve for at least two years. "At the time of joining, we have to submit our graduation certificates. In case we are fired, or quit midway, our certificates are returned only after we pay Rs 50,000. Even after payment, the management harasses us by delaying release of the documents," a nurse from the Asian Heart Hospital said.

The poor working conditions of nurses was brought to fore last year when a nurse, Beena Baby, committed suicide after she was allegedly harassed by hospital authorities.

"The anti-harassment helpline that we set up gets calls almost daily. Even after discussing matters with the higher authorities, little has been done so far. Beena Baby's case has not been investigated properly. We want strict action against the perpetrators in such cases and we will bring up all these matters in court," Poykail added.

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