Staff nurses working at the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BRIMS) on Tuesday staged a protest outside the hospital with black bands on their arms demanding that the State government increase their salaries by 50 %.
BRIMS Nurses Association president B. Prakash in a letter addressed to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa stated that the association welcomed the State government’s decision of increasing stipends for resident doctors and ₹ 10,000 incentive for Group D employees in hospitals, but this has not been done for nurses, though it was a long-pending demand.
The nurses involved in the fight against COVID-19 are at high risk and many of them have tested positive for the deadly virus.
The protestors said that they do not benefit from the general provident fund (GPF) and are also not covered by the Karnataka Government Insurance Department (KGID), whereas nurses under the Health Department are covered under the insurance scheme. “We have also been kept out of the National Pension Scheme (NPS),” they added.
Mr. Prakash demanded that the government extend the Jyothi Sanjeevini Scheme for nurses working under the Medical Education Department and also urged it to treat them on a par with nurses employed by the Health and Family Welfare Department.
