Kerala govt. brings out draft notification revising minimum wages of employees in State’s private health sector

Just after nurses in Kerala went on strike demanding that their basic salary in the state’s private healthcare sector be increased to ₹40,000, the government has now issued a draft notification revising the minimum wages of all classes of employees in the state’s private healthcare sector.

According to the draft notification released by the Labor and Skills department, the proposed revised salaries for Staff Nurse GNM/ BSC/ Registered ANM Special Degree (10 years of experience)/ EMT/ Ambulance Nurse will range from ₹ 25,450 to ₹ 30,800. Coming to the top bracket of Manager of Nurses (Master’s + 5 years of experience / Bachelor’s + 10 years of experience) / Director of Nurses / Nursing Officer, the proposed revised basic salary ranges from ₹ 27,330 to ₹ 33,080.

The draft communiqué states that the proposal will be evaluated two months or later from the date of publication of the communiqué.

Nurses will go on strike starting Monday

However, the United Nurses Association (UNA), which spearheaded the nurses’ strike on Wednesday demanding a unified pay structure for nurses in the private sector as well as a basic pay of ₹40,000 on par with the basic salary received by nurses in the public health sector, said the UNA would not back down from its demand for a basic wage of ₹40,000.

When UNA, the largest nurses’ union in the private sector, led the nurses’ strike on Wednesday, it had excluded a third of its members from joining the strike to avoid affecting hospital intensive care units and emergency rooms.

UNA has threatened a full and indefinite strike from Monday because the proposed wage revision is not close to what nurses are demanding. It was stated that the strike would be held in front of hospitals.

Hospitals where the management has agreed to pay a basic wage of ₹40,000 will be exempt from the strike. UNA also requested that these administrations reach an agreement with UNA on wages.

If nurses go ahead with the proposed strike, healthcare services in private hospitals across the state will be affected.