GMCH-32 nursing staff observe hunger strike

Chandigarh, January 23

In protest against non-fulfilment of their demands, members of the nursing staff of the GMCH-32 today sat on a 48-hour protest dharna outside the hospital gate.

Giving information, Vijay Kumar, president, GMCH Nurses’ Welfare Association, said today, five members sat on a relay hunger strike from 4 pm while some others reached the spot to express solidarity.

“Right now, we are not letting the work get affected. But if our demands are not fulfilled, we will be forced to go on a strike from February 1 onwards,” he said.

Their main demands, he said, included long-pending promotions, pay on a par with nursing staff of the PGI and GMSH-16, nursing care allowance, filling up of sanctioned posts, accommodation, access to the hospital canteen and parking lot, among others. “There are 707 sanctioned posts in the hospital and a staff of only 550. The patient-nurse ratio of the hospital is dismal,” he rued.

He said a meeting to discuss their demands was called by the Director-Principal of the GMCH-32 last week. “We were handed over the minutes of meeting (MoM), which, as always, promised us our rights. But we do not know when the management will fulfil our demands,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, officials of the GMCH-32 termed the protest as ‘unnecessary’. They said a meeting was held with the nursing staff recently wherein the demands were discussed in detail. — TNS