A determined battle of the nurses of West Bengal is going on under the leadership of ‘Nurses’ Unity’ in demand for revision of the discriminatory pay-scale of for the revocation of the transfer orders of the nurses of SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, including Secretary of the organization.
After failing to persuade the state government for three odd years to accede to their legitimate demand of modification of pay scale, the Nurses’ Unity launched a massive movement on July last for 10 long days by organizing a sit-in demonstration at the SSKM hospital premises. Under pressure of movement, the minister of state for health assured them that their demand would be met in 3-4 months’ time. Accordingly that movement was postponed.
But when the government did not honour its commitment even after lapse of over 4 months, Nurses’ Unity decided to resume the movement.
When health ministry official failed to give any satisfactory answer, the struggling nurses again organized a sit-in demonstration at SSKM hospital. But the TMC-led state government like any other bourgeois government decided to disrupt the movement by adopting vindictive measures. On 13 November, it unilaterally and arbitrarily announced that 11 nurses including the Secretary of the organization would be ‘deemed to have been transferred’. In protest, the nurses gheraoed the Nursing Superintendent of SSKM Hospital. However the authority with the help of police escorted her out of the cordoning nurses. And immediately the final transfer order was released.
In protest, Nurses’ Unity organized two massive rallies in Kolkata and has given a clarion call to all members of nursing community to join their ranks and escalate the movement to a higher scale so as to compel the government to withdraw the undemocratic punitive transfer orders and keep its promise for Pay-scale revision expediently.
Nurses of West Bengal on a warpath against injustice
