Thrissur nurses intensify agitation after salary talks fail

The nurses have been on strike for nearly three months, demanding a minimum monthly salary of ₹40,000. On Sunday, they intensified their agitation by staging a sit-in outside the Thrissur Archdiocese headquarters after talks with the hospital management failed.

Meanwhile, according to UNA representatives, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports O.J. Janish later contacted the protesters by phone and sought five days. He assured them that the issue would be discussed with the Health and Labour Ministers and a decision taken after the conclusion of the current assembly session, as reported by The Hindu.

Following the assurances, the nurses called off their protest outside the Archbishop's house. On Monday morning, District Collector Shikha Surendran, representing the state government, spoke with the protesters on Bishop's Palace Road for about 30 minutes, but the matter could not be resolved. Later, they shifted their protest to the Collectorate.

The UNA stated that the peaceful sit-in protest outside the Collectorate would continue until July 4, or until a satisfactory resolution is reached. The association declared that it would not call off the agitation without a concrete commitment regarding salary revision.

The management of Amala Institute of Medical Sciences and Jubilee Mission Medical College stated that they are prepared to implement the revised salary structure once the state government issues the final notification regarding minimum wages for nurses.

The management stated that Jubilee Mission had implemented the revised wages and paid all arrears, even after the High Court had quashed the 2018 minimum wage notification. They further added that the hospital has independently raised wages since April 2023, and the current pay scale ranges from ₹32,718 to ₹65,000.