Metro Hospitals Nurses Protest: A Partial Victory
16 Jan 2010
The four-day long struggle of the nurses of the five Metro Hospitals in Delhi and Noida ended today, after the management partially agreed to their demands. Discussions between the hospital management and the Nursing Welfare Association (NWA) members have led to an agreement being signed, assuring, among other things, a 100 per cent hike in salaries along with a yearly 10 per cent increment.
“The biggest achievement is the abolition of the bond system,” says Usha Krishna Kumar, the President of NWA. Every nurse, who works with the Metro Hospital, had to enter into a three-year contract (bond) with the management. This meant the management retains all the professional and academic certificates of the nurses. “If we wanted to leave our jobs, we could not do so before the contract period was over,” says Shiny (all names changed), a nurse with Lajpat Nagar Metro hospital. “We have to cope with the misbehaviour and ill-treatment of the management, and have to live a life of bonded labourers,” says Geetha, a nurse from the Preet Vihar Metro Hospital.
Before the agreement, the nurses working in the five Metro Hospitals earned a meagre amount of Rs 4,500 as their basic salary. After the deduction of Provident Fund and hostel allowance, their take home salary was around Rs 3,500. “Now the basic salary has been fixed at Rs 9,000,” says Usha Krishna Kumar.
A nurse from Lajpat Nagar contradicted this saying, “The management has fixed the basic salary as Rs 8,000 and nursing allowance and ICU allowance of Rs 500 each. Nurses staying outside as paying guests will be paid an extra amount of Rs 500.”
As per the agreement, the nurses will now be given their PF account numbers and issued salary slips. They will also be entitled to maternity benefits, overtime allowance and will be assigned only eight night shifts a month.
“The bond system is withdrawn and we will be getting our certificates back in 10 days,” says Shiny. “However, since they will not have our certificates, they are asking us to give them security. One month’s salary has to be paid to the management. They will deduct this amount in installments for six months from our salary,” she adds. As per the agreement, the nurses will have to give 45-days’ notice before quitting their jobs. If not, they will forfeit the security deposit.
The management has also agreed to improve the conditions of the hostels, especially those of the Preet Vihar and Patel Nagar Metro Hospitals, which are the most deplorable ones, according to the nurses.
The nurses have been on strike since 12 January 2010, demanding pay hike, return of their original certificates and improvement in service conditions. The nurses, who were protesting near their respective hospitals, had shifted to protest collectively at Metro Hospital, Sector-11, Noida, on 14 January, under the banner of the NWA. Around 500 of them were on a sit-in, shouting slogans such as, “Ye Metro nahin hai, Tihar Jail hai (This is not Metro, this is Tihar Jail),” “We are not sweepers and aayas,” “We need justice,” and “Stop bond labour”.
The History of Events
On 28 June 2009, the nurses submitted a memorandum to Dr Purushottam Lal, Chairman, Metro Hospital and Heart Institute, explaining their pathetic conditions and highlighting their demands, including pay hike. Dr Lal assured them that their demands would be considered within one month. However, as is management practice, it turned to be a meaningless assurance.
After months of waiting, the nurses approached the NWA in October 2009. Since, there was no response from the management, on 27 December 2009, the nurses served a notice to the Chairman, about their decision to strike work from 11 January 2010. The management did not respond to this strike notice as well. Reiterating their demands, on 10 January 2010, the nurses again served a notice, informing the management about their decision to go ahead with the strike on 11 January onwards. The same day, a meeting was held between the management and the President, NWA, in which Usha Krishna Kumar was assured by Dr Lal that the certificates of the nurses would be returned within 24 hours and the rest of the issues would be resolved in a week’s time.
On the 11th morning, the management refused to allow the nurses of Noida Metro Hospital to go out of the hospital premises after their Sunday night shift. On hearing the news of the nurses being detained, the rest of the staff gathered outside the hospital gate, demanding immediate release of their co-workers. “When all of us gathered in front of the hospital, the management was infuriated and ordered the security guards to attack us,” alleges a nurse from the hospital. “We were ruthlessly kicked, pushed about and beaten with lathis by the security guards as well as the bouncers,” she adds. Anish, Anshi, Premlata, Leeji and Prince – five nurses from the hospital – were injured in the incident.
The nurses then went to the Chairman’s office to get back their certificates. But they were denied the certificates. The Nursing Superintendent, Sapna Mitra, informed them that there was no instruction from the hospital authorities to give back the certificates. So, the nurses left disheartened.
The same day, around 1 a.m., a few hospital authorities along with some police went to the girls’ hostel and demanded that they do the night shift immediately. “When we refused, the officials threatened us of being implicated in legal cases,” say a few hostel inmates.
Following this, the nurses of all Metro Hospitals went ahead with the indefinite strike, outside their respective hospitals and, on the 14th, by protesting collectively at the Noida Metro Hospital.
Hostel: A Nightmare
The living conditions in the hostels provided by the hospital are horrendous. “Ten or twelve of us share one single room, and a single bed has to be shared by four of us. Even clean drinking water is not available. We are treated like slaves,” says Mary, a hostel inmate. The living conditions of the male nurses at the Preet Vihar hostel are more deplorable. “Thirty-four of us live in two rooms. There is only one bathroom and one toilet for all of us,” says Joseph, a male nurse of the Metro Hospital at Preet Vihar.
Abuse at Work
An official shift for nurses is six hours. “We are made to work for 11-12 hours every day without any extra pay. Twelve-hour night shifts are assigned to us on 10-12 consecutive days,” says Jacob, a nurse. To add to their woes is the attitude of the management during working hours. “The management often behaves very harshly and rudely with us during working hours. They abuse us with vulgar and offensive language,” says Joseph.
Committed, but No Commitment from the Management
“The nurses serve the patients with utmost sincerity, attend to their needs with dedication and give them medicines on time. However, nurses themselves are denied any medical facility or insurance. They have to pay even for a Paracetamol,” says Peter, an office-bearer of NWA. By chance, if the nurses have to undergo treatment in the hospital, there was no concession given for the hospital expenses. In one instance, a nurse gave birth to a dead child and she didn’t have enough money to pay to the hospital. She was not discharged from the hospital until the hospital expenses were met. “Nurses are prone to various diseases, but, there is no immunisation programme for them,” says Rajesh.
Bound to the Bond
“We are happy that now the bond system is over,” says Shiny. The conditions of the bond had made their life miserable. They couldn’t leave the hospital on any grounds. As quoted by Abraham, husband of an ex-nurse, Rekha, “My wife fell from a bus, got badly injured, and could not work any more. She wanted to leave the job and take her certificates back. But the certificates were withheld, till we paid Rs 30,000 to the hospital management as bond release payment.” Anu, a nurse who decided to quit after undergoing a uterus operation, also had to pay the same amount for getting her certificates.
Calling Off
Following the agreement reached, the strike has been called off. The nurses have decided to rejoin work, not sure of what is in store for them – peace or vengeance.
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16 Jan 2010
The four-day long struggle of the nurses of the five Metro Hospitals in Delhi and Noida ended today, after the management partially agreed to their demands. Discussions between the hospital management and the Nursing Welfare Association (NWA) members have led to an agreement being signed, assuring, among other things, a 100 per cent hike in salaries along with a yearly 10 per cent increment.
“The biggest achievement is the abolition of the bond system,” says Usha Krishna Kumar, the President of NWA. Every nurse, who works with the Metro Hospital, had to enter into a three-year contract (bond) with the management. This meant the management retains all the professional and academic certificates of the nurses. “If we wanted to leave our jobs, we could not do so before the contract period was over,” says Shiny (all names changed), a nurse with Lajpat Nagar Metro hospital. “We have to cope with the misbehaviour and ill-treatment of the management, and have to live a life of bonded labourers,” says Geetha, a nurse from the Preet Vihar Metro Hospital.
Before the agreement, the nurses working in the five Metro Hospitals earned a meagre amount of Rs 4,500 as their basic salary. After the deduction of Provident Fund and hostel allowance, their take home salary was around Rs 3,500. “Now the basic salary has been fixed at Rs 9,000,” says Usha Krishna Kumar.
A nurse from Lajpat Nagar contradicted this saying, “The management has fixed the basic salary as Rs 8,000 and nursing allowance and ICU allowance of Rs 500 each. Nurses staying outside as paying guests will be paid an extra amount of Rs 500.”
As per the agreement, the nurses will now be given their PF account numbers and issued salary slips. They will also be entitled to maternity benefits, overtime allowance and will be assigned only eight night shifts a month.
“The bond system is withdrawn and we will be getting our certificates back in 10 days,” says Shiny. “However, since they will not have our certificates, they are asking us to give them security. One month’s salary has to be paid to the management. They will deduct this amount in installments for six months from our salary,” she adds. As per the agreement, the nurses will have to give 45-days’ notice before quitting their jobs. If not, they will forfeit the security deposit.
The management has also agreed to improve the conditions of the hostels, especially those of the Preet Vihar and Patel Nagar Metro Hospitals, which are the most deplorable ones, according to the nurses.
The nurses have been on strike since 12 January 2010, demanding pay hike, return of their original certificates and improvement in service conditions. The nurses, who were protesting near their respective hospitals, had shifted to protest collectively at Metro Hospital, Sector-11, Noida, on 14 January, under the banner of the NWA. Around 500 of them were on a sit-in, shouting slogans such as, “Ye Metro nahin hai, Tihar Jail hai (This is not Metro, this is Tihar Jail),” “We are not sweepers and aayas,” “We need justice,” and “Stop bond labour”.
The History of Events
On 28 June 2009, the nurses submitted a memorandum to Dr Purushottam Lal, Chairman, Metro Hospital and Heart Institute, explaining their pathetic conditions and highlighting their demands, including pay hike. Dr Lal assured them that their demands would be considered within one month. However, as is management practice, it turned to be a meaningless assurance.
After months of waiting, the nurses approached the NWA in October 2009. Since, there was no response from the management, on 27 December 2009, the nurses served a notice to the Chairman, about their decision to strike work from 11 January 2010. The management did not respond to this strike notice as well. Reiterating their demands, on 10 January 2010, the nurses again served a notice, informing the management about their decision to go ahead with the strike on 11 January onwards. The same day, a meeting was held between the management and the President, NWA, in which Usha Krishna Kumar was assured by Dr Lal that the certificates of the nurses would be returned within 24 hours and the rest of the issues would be resolved in a week’s time.
On the 11th morning, the management refused to allow the nurses of Noida Metro Hospital to go out of the hospital premises after their Sunday night shift. On hearing the news of the nurses being detained, the rest of the staff gathered outside the hospital gate, demanding immediate release of their co-workers. “When all of us gathered in front of the hospital, the management was infuriated and ordered the security guards to attack us,” alleges a nurse from the hospital. “We were ruthlessly kicked, pushed about and beaten with lathis by the security guards as well as the bouncers,” she adds. Anish, Anshi, Premlata, Leeji and Prince – five nurses from the hospital – were injured in the incident.
The nurses then went to the Chairman’s office to get back their certificates. But they were denied the certificates. The Nursing Superintendent, Sapna Mitra, informed them that there was no instruction from the hospital authorities to give back the certificates. So, the nurses left disheartened.
The same day, around 1 a.m., a few hospital authorities along with some police went to the girls’ hostel and demanded that they do the night shift immediately. “When we refused, the officials threatened us of being implicated in legal cases,” say a few hostel inmates.
Following this, the nurses of all Metro Hospitals went ahead with the indefinite strike, outside their respective hospitals and, on the 14th, by protesting collectively at the Noida Metro Hospital.
Hostel: A Nightmare
The living conditions in the hostels provided by the hospital are horrendous. “Ten or twelve of us share one single room, and a single bed has to be shared by four of us. Even clean drinking water is not available. We are treated like slaves,” says Mary, a hostel inmate. The living conditions of the male nurses at the Preet Vihar hostel are more deplorable. “Thirty-four of us live in two rooms. There is only one bathroom and one toilet for all of us,” says Joseph, a male nurse of the Metro Hospital at Preet Vihar.
Abuse at Work
An official shift for nurses is six hours. “We are made to work for 11-12 hours every day without any extra pay. Twelve-hour night shifts are assigned to us on 10-12 consecutive days,” says Jacob, a nurse. To add to their woes is the attitude of the management during working hours. “The management often behaves very harshly and rudely with us during working hours. They abuse us with vulgar and offensive language,” says Joseph.
Committed, but No Commitment from the Management
“The nurses serve the patients with utmost sincerity, attend to their needs with dedication and give them medicines on time. However, nurses themselves are denied any medical facility or insurance. They have to pay even for a Paracetamol,” says Peter, an office-bearer of NWA. By chance, if the nurses have to undergo treatment in the hospital, there was no concession given for the hospital expenses. In one instance, a nurse gave birth to a dead child and she didn’t have enough money to pay to the hospital. She was not discharged from the hospital until the hospital expenses were met. “Nurses are prone to various diseases, but, there is no immunisation programme for them,” says Rajesh.
Bound to the Bond
“We are happy that now the bond system is over,” says Shiny. The conditions of the bond had made their life miserable. They couldn’t leave the hospital on any grounds. As quoted by Abraham, husband of an ex-nurse, Rekha, “My wife fell from a bus, got badly injured, and could not work any more. She wanted to leave the job and take her certificates back. But the certificates were withheld, till we paid Rs 30,000 to the hospital management as bond release payment.” Anu, a nurse who decided to quit after undergoing a uterus operation, also had to pay the same amount for getting her certificates.
Calling Off
Following the agreement reached, the strike has been called off. The nurses have decided to rejoin work, not sure of what is in store for them – peace or vengeance.
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