Kochi: The return of the nurses from Iraq is now training spotlight on the reason for their migration from Kerala to a strife-torn and insecure place like Iraq in search of job and money. The main reason for the migration is the poor wages paid to nurses here. One of the best skilled in the world, Malayali nurses are often given a raw deal in their home state, which in the recent past resulted in several agitations by nurses.
In a recent reply to an RTI query, the statistics of the Labour Department revealed that 80 percent of the hospitals in the state paid nurses below the minimum wage of Rs 10,000 fixed by the Labour Department itself. “The nurses are an exploited lot in the state. The hospitals employ various methods to pay less salary while setting tough working conditions for them. The main among them is downgrading of the hospitals by the hospitals themselves.
“The hospitals are categorized into six and the sixth grade belongs to hospitals with over 800 beds. But all hospitals do not show the correct grade and show lower grade in order to pay less salary to the staff,” said Jasmine Shah, president, United Nurses Association which led a series of agitations by nurses demanding decent wages for the nursing staff in recent times.
He said that the only solution to the problem is bringing nurses working in private hospitals under the Health Department, like nurses in government hospitals. Currently, they belong to the Labour Department. Jasmine said that Metro Hospital in Thrissur where the organization waged a strike is yet to adhere to the agreement brokered by the Labour Department. “There are only two shifts and no three shifts as stipulated in the agreement and general nurses are paid Rs 8000 while B.Sc nurses are given Rs 8,500 which is very pathetic,” he said.
To avoid problems, the hospitals ensure that no organizational activities are indulged in by the nurses within their premises and also do not employ those ‘suspected’ of such activities. The recommendations of the Balaraman Committee appointed to study the working conditions of the nurses are yet to be implemented. “The 32 directions of the committee come under Health Department and 18 under the Labour department which include eight-hour shift, five-day week, benefits like medical leave, maternity leave etc. But they still remain on paper,” Shah pointed out.
Dr Philip Augustine, managing director of Lakeshore Hospital, where a protest was held by nurses, said that his hospital was the only one paying the Industrial Relations Committee (IRC) recommended wages in the state which was brokered with the intervention of Labour Minister Shibu Baby John.
“The ploy of these hospitals is to lower their grades and pay less salaries. We are not saying that they are not paying salaries. They pay less than what is prescribed,” said Shah who added that hospitals like Mother Hospital, Thrissur, where agitations were staged even sabotaged the three-shift system while Kannur Anjarakkandi Medical College openly announced they are not ready for any agreement on paying more wages.
“The stipulation on the number of nurses is that in the general ward there should be 1 nurse for five to seven patients while in the emergency care it should be 1:1. But this is not adhered to by several hospitals,” Shah added.
R. Ranganathan, general manager, Amrita Hospital, which also witnessed an agitation by nurses, said that the hospital is currently paying minimum wages and above to nurses on the basis of their experience. But Jasmine Shah alleged that the hospital, which should be in the grade of medical colleges with over 800 beds, had lowered its grade in order to pay less salary to nurses.
