Delhi: Nurses protest over pending COVID compensation, threaten indefinite strike

New Delhi: The nurses' unions of Delhi government-run hospitals on Monday wore black ribbons to register their protest over pending ex-gratia which was announced by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government.

The nurses were protesting over the pending ex-gratia of eight nurses who died during COVID duty during the second wave the pandemic last year.

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Delhi Nurses Federation (DNF) Secretary General Liladhar Ramchandani told IANS that it has been more than a year the Delhi government announced that any doctor, nurse, or other paramedical staff who die during Covid duty, his or her kin will get a compensation of Rs 1 crore.

"But our eight nursing staff died during Covid duty in second wave, but ex-gratia is still pending," he said. The state government must show sensibility towards this sensitive issues, added he further.

The nurses unions have said that they will continue the protest wearing a black ribbon on January 25 also without disturbing the patients care in hospitals. Delhi's top five state-run hospitals - Lok Nayak Jayaprakash (LNJP) Hospital, GTB Hospital, DDU Hospital, GB Pant hospital and Bhimrao Ambedkar hospitals along with other Delhi government-run facilities took part in the protest on Monday.

To intensify the protest, all the nursing officers will come out for 2 hours and register a protest across the hospitals from January 27.

If the amount is not paid to the families of the martyrs during this, the entire nursing cadre will go on an indefinite strike without any further notice, the Federation had said in a letter to the Lt Governor Anil Baijal dated on January 16.

"Our nurses who were martyred in Corona have not been given respect, nor they have been given their money. The families of the martyrs are wandering to get their rights, even the amount which is normally received according to the rules haven't been paid," said the DNF in a statement.

The Federation had also written a letter to the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on January 20, demanding an "early release" of the compensation amount.

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