Kerala nurses on the warpath over long-overdue wage revision
On a sultry Tuesday morning (March 10, 2026), before the city came to life again, several nurses of a super specialty hospital located on the banks of the vast Kochi backwaters in Kerala’s Ernakulam district arrived at the entrance of their workplace.
Instead of rushing to care for their patients as they normally do, nurses dressed in their casual clothes and waited for others to join them. As the minutes passed, more nurses entered and the crowd began to grow.
Someone brought a banner with the name of the United Nurses Association, formed by state private hospital nurses, written in large, bold letters. A few more people started chanting slogans. Their voices echoed through the luxurious hospital building even as some protesters waved the organization’s white flag.
Similar scenes occurredThousands of nurses and several other private hospitals in the state have been protesting for the last few weeks, demanding a basic salary of ₹40,000 per month. Other demands include improved staffing levels and patient-caregiver ratio.
As the day progressed, the crowd of nurses outside the hospital grew to a sizeable number. The summer sun began to set in with all its intensity. But while the slogans continued with renewed vigor, the stifling heat could not overcome the determination of the nurses.
Standing in the crowd was Harsha P. Jacob, waving the loose fabric of his cotton kurta to catch some breeze. He was there with over a hundred nurses, all protesting. She was nine months pregnant and was scheduled to start maternity leave in a few days.
‘Too late’
If he hadn’t attended the protest, his friends would have understood. But this was a protest he could not stay away from. So he showed up every day, standing from morning to night, raising his voice along with other colleagues, demanding a pay raise. “The wage revision is long overdue. We are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Salaries are extremely low and we have to support our families using it,” says Harsha.
While campaigning violentlyProtesters are quick to add that in exchange for a pay raise, they are not abdicating their responsibilities to the patients left in their care.
“It’s not that we don’t care about patients. It upsets us to have to do this when our patients are inside, not to stand here and do our duty; they are like our family,” says Rahul Parakkaran, a male nurse at the hospital.
These were words that many nurses would later repeat together. Nurses say they had to go on an indefinite strike after their persistent demands for salary revision were ignored for years.
“We are forced to do this. A few of our colleagues are still inside looking after patients and ensuring that patient care is not affected,” assures Rahul, who works as a team leader of nurses in the hospital’s operating theatre.
As of Wednesday, 429 private hospitals across the state have announced their willingness to revise the minimum wage to ₹32,700. | Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
As the protest entered its second day, the nurses decided to resort to some innovative methods of protesting that would increase their visibility and increase public support. Rahul told them that they would collect donations from among themselves and make porridge; This was a symbolic gesture to show the hospital management that the community was struggling to survive in the current economic conditions.
The crowd of nurses listened attentively as Rahul, along with other UNA officials, described the challenges facing their community. They chanted slogans for a better tomorrow.
The action left an exciting impression on the protesters. The growing crowd of agitators began to march towards the hospital. “We want justice!” they shouted.
As they walked towards the hospital chanting slogans, security guards stopped them midway. While vehicles entering and exiting the hospital were barely moving, protesters were ushered into the gates and sat there continuing their protest.
Sheethu Antony, a native of Kottayam, has been working at the hospital for over nine years.
“I came in my uniform,” says Sheethu, tapping his shoulder bag. “As soon as the hospital accepts our terms, we are all ready to continue working,” he asserts.
Beginner’s struggles
“The minimum wage needs to be increased. We are here because no one cares how much we get paid. It was only after this protest that people realized how low our wages really are. I see how much the new joiners are struggling, they are not getting paid well for the work they do. I am here for them too,” he says.
KC Sijo, a new student who has just joined the hospital, intervenes and explains that she has been put on probation for 1.5 years.
“It is quite difficult for new graduates. We get paid less everywhere. My friends in other professions get higher salaries. We chose this job because of our love for the profession. But it is very difficult to live in this economy with such low salaries,” he adds.
According to the association, wages have not been increased since 2019. The last salary revision was implemented in April 2018, after which salaries were increased to around ₹20,000.
“Salary revision needs to be done every three years or at least every five years. We have been demanding revision for a long time. We had to resort to strike as our demands were not met,” says UNA national president Jasmine Shah.
“Current salaries in the private sector are inadequate to keep up with the rising cost of living. They are also not at par with salaries in government hospitals. Nurses in government hospitals receive around ₹60,000 per month for the same services we provide in private hospitals,” she adds.
Warning strike
Nurses staged a symbolic statewide strike on Feb. 21 before taking action. Nurses went on strike on March 4 after their demands were ignored. During this strike, one third of the nurses in private hospitals continued to serve.
The widespread excitement prompted the State government to issue a draft notification revising the minimum wages of employees in the private healthcare sector. It suggested revising salaries for GNM/BSc staff nurses, ranging from ₹25,450 to ₹30,800. However, the association and nurses were not happy with the situation and decided to continue the strike.
UNA started an indefinite strike on Monday, March 9, 2026. The changing scenario following the government’s notification forced nurses to revise their strategies. It was decided that nurses, who had previously been asked to stay behind and continue their duties, would also join the protest.
Even then, some of the nurses who were part of the association were still showing up at hospitals to help in intensive care even as protests gained momentum across the state.
“These nurses provide their services to ensure that patient care in critical emergency care is not interrupted,” notes Rahul.
“We have given time to private hospitals to shift patients to other hospitals if necessary,” says Shah.
Attitude of hospital owners
Hospital owners also view the strike as illegal and the demands as unacceptable.
“The strike is illegal as UNA has not complied with the mandatory 14-day notice before starting the protest. There is a minimum wage structure that needs to be followed. You cannot demand a minimum wage of ₹40,000. How can small hospitals bear this increased financial burden? This may lead to closure of small hospitals,” points out Anwar M. Ali, general secretary of Kerala Private Hospitals Association.
He argues that rising fees could eventually make health care more expensive in the state.
“If such high fees are paid, hospitals may be forced to pass the cost on to the public, making treatments more expensive and potentially disrupting the healthcare industry,” he adds.
Sha highlights that as many as 429 private hospitals have agreed with the UNA to revise the minimum wage to 32,700 by Wednesday, March 11, 2026, adding that the association represents nurses in only 490 private hospitals in the State.
INTUC State president K. Chandrasekharan pledging supportIt says special training for nurses and workers in the health sector are being mindlessly exploited.
It appears that no norms regarding medical treatment apply in private hospitals and most of them abuse patients. However, most of these hospitals pay nurses low wages.he says.
CITU national vice-president and union leader K. Chandran Pillai says private hospitals must comply with the minimum wages notified by the government.
The striking nurses’ demands include a basic monthly wage of ₹40,000, improved staffing levels and patient-caregiver ratio. | Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
“In institutions where the minimum wage is not applied, the union can intervene and put pressure on the management to implement the wage revision,” he says.
fear of the future
Even while striking, protesters fear that they will be victimized when they return to work.
“This is a fear that most nurses have. But since we cannot live on low wages, we are here on the protest path. It is time we get proper compensation,” says Anita Mathayi, who has been a nurse for over two decades.
As the strike entered a difficult day, protesters called for “Don’t call us angels, treat us like humans.”
