‘Decide on minimum wages of contract nurses’, says Madras HC

CHENNAI: The First Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday directed the special committee constituted by the government to decide on the minimum wages payable to contract nurses and submit a report in six months.

The Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose gave the direction while passing further interim orders on a PIL petition from Ganesh of Avadi. The petitioner sought to restrain the contract nurses, who were paid Rs 7,700 a month and demanding pay parity with regular nurses, from striking work in October/November last year.

On Friday, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan filed his counter, saying the government, after considering the demand, has given a proposal to the Centre to revise the salary from Rs 7,700 to Rs 14,000, in addition to the usual benefits.

Objecting to this, Pugal Gandhi, counsel for the TN MRB Nurses Empowerment Association, submitted that the nurses were entitled to a pay equal to that of regular nurses.

MRB Nurses Welfare Association’s senior counsel P Wilson told the judges that the consolidated pay of Rs 7,700 paid by the government for contract nurses was very low compared to the Centre’s recent recommendation to pay Rs 39,700 to its nurses. The Centre has also recommended to all States that they must bring in laws to mandate all private hospitals to pay a minimum of Rs 20,000 to nurses working in hospitals having beds less than 500 and to pay government salary to those working in hospitals with more than 500 beds.

The Bench directed the government to consider paying Rs 22,000, as recommended by the Directorate of Medical Services, to the nurses and also directed the committee to hear the grievances of the nurses and take steps to address them.