Contract nurses seek better pay

Contract Staff Nurses, working at King George Hospital (KGH), Victoria Government Hospital (VGH) and the Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), staged a peaceful protest opposite the KGH Superintendent’s Office on Wednesday, demanding removal of anomalies in their pay scales.

The nurses who participated in the agitation under the aegis of the Nursing Officers Association of Andhra Pradesh, said that they were performing COVID-19 duties for the past six months, putting their lives at risk on par with regular nurses. It was unfortunate that the pay scales of Staff Nurses, who were recruited recently for COVID-19 duties, was fixed at a higher level, they said.

Demanding implementation of the ‘equal pay for equal work’ rule at all government hospitals in the State, they said that they were recruited under the purview of the Directorate of Medical Education and posted to various teaching hospitals five years ago.

“We are being paid ₹22,500 a month while the wages of Staff Nurses, who were recruited through the A.P. Vaidya Vidhan Parishad for the Directorate of Public Health recently, are fixed at ₹34,000 a month. The anomaly in wages is leading to discord among them,” said Jayalakshmi, a representative of the association.

“We are working for 8 to 12 hours at a stretch, wearing PPE kits. We appeal to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to come to our rescue. Our services should be regularised as per G.O. 44,” they said. The nurses held placards and staged a peaceful protest. Later, they paid floral tributes to Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy by garlanding his photo on the occasion of his death anniversary.