Revanth urges TS health minister to accept demands of protesting NIMS contract nurses

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and Malkajgiri MP Revanth Reddy on Tuesday wrote an open letter to state health minister T Harish Rao seeking an immediate solution to the concerns raised by the contract nurses of the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Punjagutta.

For the past 10 days, 423 contract nurses have been protesting at NIMS.

Revanth alleged that the contract nurses have been worried for the last 10 days but the government has not bothered to address their concerns. In the open letter, he wrote, "The same thing has been going on in NIMS for the last 10 days. It is a pity that the health minister has not responded to this."

The TPCC chief said not giving pay slips for maternity leave is a serious injustice.

He further wrote, "The role of the nurses is crucial in serving poor patients. If nurses boycott their duties, that will severely impact the medical services, especially for the poor."

In the letter, Revanth said the nurses have alleged that they were not given maternity leave despite performing duties on par with regular employees for years. They also alleged that wages were not paid according to the autonomous regulations. They also voiced another serious concern – they are being fired and re-hired every six months for working on a contract basis causing them to lose seniority.

Revanth urged the minister to go to NIMS and accept their minimum demands. He warned that neglect could cause serious disruption of medical services for poor patients. He sought an immediate response on the issue.