Stalemate continues in nurses stir

KCOHI: The strike by nurses in the district intensified on Wednesday with senior nurses too joining the agitation. Matters came to a head at the Lakeshore hospital with around 800 nurses joining the protest. The nurses at the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College at Kolanchery have also been on strike since Saturday.The United Nurses Association (UPA), which is spearheading the agitation at Lakeshore hospital said that they would not withdraw the protest until all their demands were met. UPA state president Jasmine Shah said that nurses in other hospitals had also extended solidarity to the strike. “About 500 nurses from other hospitals in the city will join the strike,” he said.Stating that they were conducting the agitation in a peaceful manner, he said that they would resist any move from the management aimed at forcefully evicting the protestors from the hospital premises. Shah also claimed that all the nursing staff in the Lakeshore hospital was on strike and students from the Samaritan College of Nursing  were now being deployed for work.Shah added that the hospital authorities or the labour department had not called them for a discussion. However, Managing Director of Lakeshore Hospital Philip Augustine said that discussions were indeed held with union leaders. “We have agreed on certain issues. But their prime demand is a salary-hike. This cannot be decided by a single hospital’s management. They can approach the government if they have any grievances,” he said.Augustine said that the functioning of the hospital had not been affected by the strike. “But we have postponed certain surgeries. A liver transplant surgery was to take place but it stands postponed,” he said.Pointing out that there was no shortage of nurses, the MD added that the hospital had already recruited some nurses and more would be hired in the coming days. He also said that the Kerala High Court had directed the police to provide protection for the hospital.At the Kolenchery hospital, daily routine has been affected, with nurses strongly sticking to their demand for better pay. The hospital management said that it had agreed to 18 out of the 19 demands of the agitators and needed more time to sort out the salary-hike issue.