Tiruchi govt. hospital staff nurses, recruited by MRB, seek salary raise with retrospective effect
According to a Government Order with effect from May 1, 2021, the nurses' salaries were increased from ₹14,000 to ₹18,000, with a 5% annual increment applicable from their date of joining until their date of transfer to time scale of pay.
While a significant number of nurses have benefited from the increase in the past three years through regularisation, at least 400 continue to wait for their turn throughout the State.
'There are approximately 46 nurses who have not got the proposed salary raise at the MGMGH, despite their long years of service. It has been four years since the 2021 order, but we are being given excuses each time we raise the issue,' V. Sara, a nurse working at the Tiruchi GH, told The Hindu.
Ms. Sara, who pursued the matter through a Right to Information (RTI) petition on behalf of affected nurses, presented a request to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on his recent visit to the city.
Nurses under government service can earn upwards of ₹30,000 as salaries.
'Though we are working just like the government staff nurses, MRB nurses are still receiving ₹14,000. We get an annual increment of ₹500; those earning ₹18,000 are getting ₹900 as increment. It is unfortunate that such pay disparity exists on different levels within the nursing staff cadre,' said Ms. Sara.
Many nurses said that it was hard to make ends meet with the current salary. 'New appointees under the National Health Mission schemes after 2021 are earning more than us. We have appeared for eligibility exams like the others, so why should we be discriminated against?' asked a nurse from Karur Medical College.
Nurses who have migrated from rural areas said that their salary could not cover their living expenses. 'I have to pay rent for a room in Jayamkondan, where I work, and support my family in my village, since my husband's agricultural income is not regular,' said Ruth, a nurse with five years of experience.
'The word 'contract' is used in our employment, though it does not specify its time duration or validity. MRB nurses work as hard as their colleagues who are on a regular government pay scale. It is unfair to delay the resolution of their pay raise,' said R.M. Vignesh, State joint secretary, Tamil Nadu Government MRB Nurses Empowerment Association.
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