CHENNAI: Hundreds of nurses attached to the Tamil Nadu Mid-Level Healthcare Providers’ Union staged a hunger strike near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore here on Monday (October 5), demanding permanent employment, job security, equal pay for equal work and fulfilment of election promises made to them by the TVK government.
The protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, sought a monthly salary of Rs 45,000, payment of pending incentives for 2023 and 2024, paid maternity leave and higher incentives for services rendered at wellness centres.
They also demanded that Mid-Level Healthcare Providers be redesignated as Community Health Officers (CHOs), issued certificates recognising the designation.
Union president N Sundari said the workers were being paid Rs 21,000 a month despite performing a range of healthcare services.
“How can we run our families with a salary of Rs 21,000? The incentives due for 2023 and 2024 have also not been paid. Mid Level Healthcare Providers should be provided paid maternity leave,” she said.
She urged the Health and Family Welfare Minister KG Arunraj and Secretary Darez Ahamed to meet the protesting workers and hold talks, saying the agitation would continue until their demands were addressed.
Former DMK minister Mano Thangaraj, who participated in the protest on behalf of the Constitution Protection Movement, described the agitation as a fight for rights rather than merely a protest over demands.
“Equal pay for equal work is not being ensured. Mid Level Healthcare Providers are paid only Rs 21,000, while remuneration is higher in other States. The government should fulfil their demands,” he said.
When asked why the demands had not been addressed during the previous DMK regime, Mano Thangaraj said he had participated in the protest as part of a movement working to protect people’s rights and declined to comment on the previous government.
Advocate Balan said nurses in Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh were provided maternity leave and better remuneration, while their counterparts in Tamil Nadu lacked adequate job security and employee benefits.
Advocate Vanchinathan said the workers were forced to protest because the government had failed to engage with them. He urged the Health Minister and Secretary to hold talks and resolve the grievances.
The protesters said they would continue the hunger strike until the government agreed to their demands.