BS RAWAT
NEW DELHI: Staff nurses working on contract in Delhi government's Baba Saheb Ambedkar (BSA) Hospital have gone on strike on Wednesday after the hospital announced the change of their contractor, thus affecting patient care.

There are over 280 contract staff nurses working, most of whom have worked there for several years. Their salary is not on par with the regular employees of BSA, and they were not getting Diwali bonus for last five years.

“We have got a good contractor after many years and the hospital authority has terminated his services. They wanted to bring back the old contractor who has a bad name for not paying our full salaries in time,” said Shashi, a nursing staff.

The functioning of the hospital was affected by the strike, with only minimal services being maintained. With the hospital authorities negotiating with the striking nurses, the regular staff nurses were severely overburdened.

“We will wait until Friday morning and if we still do not get a satisfactory answer, we will go on an indefinite strike.” added Shashi.