Pune: Bonded nurses protests as their salaries cut amidst COVID pandemic
Mehab Qureshi
Pune, June 8, 2020:The Maharashtra state government has cut the salaries of bonded nurses. This has led to outrage amongst the bonded nurses. Despite repeated requests and correspondence to the state government, the demands are not being met. Furthermore, the number of COVID-19 patients is spiking, which has put a strain on patient service. However, due to the reduction in the salary received for this work, nurses have begun to protest now.
“Does the government think it is their right to cut our salary? ,” asked a bonded nurse who participated in the protest today in the city. “The workload has increased tremendously during COVID-19, and lowering down the salary is causing both mental and financial stress”, said another nurse.
Following are the issues of bonded nurses: The government has decreased the salary of bonded nurses from Rs 45,000 to Rs 25,000. After the recruitment process of bonded nurses, they are appointed to the vacant post for the first 18 months. Post which, they serve for 11 months more, once this tenure is over a special written examination has to be given, and then only the final recruitment process is completed. This process has been followed since 2015. However, the nurses working from 5th April 2015 to 2019 hasn’t got a permanent post.
