Nurses at Sacred Heart Hospital, Pynkulam, Thodupuzha, on Tuesday joined the on-going strike seeking wage hikes even as the Labour department called off further talks.

According to regional joint labour commissioner Mr Vincent Alex, Labour department officials who were on their way to Thodupuzha for talks in the morning returned to the city after hearing about the strike.
“We have asked them (nurses) not to strike while talks are going on.

The Labour department has taken a decision not to interfere in strikes if mediatory efforts are not given a chance,” he told this newspaper.

Meanwhile, the pro-Congress Nurses’ Association said that the strike was called following the negative attitude of the management to their 12 demands including wage hike, night duty allowance and concession for canteen food.

In another development, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Kolencherry Medical College to file a counter affidavit stating whether they complied with the 2009 government notification on minimum wages for nurses.

The court also asked hospital authorities to earmark a place for peaceful agitation of nurses within the campus minimum 15 metres away from the main entrance of the building.

A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice P.R. Ramachandra Menon passed the order while considering a petition filed by the hospital seeking police protection.
The petitioner had submitted that the strike had affected the functioning of the hospital.