Kannur nurses' strike: Union blames CITU, BMS for deadlock as talks fail again

Kannur: The indefinite strike by nurses at six private hospitals in Kannur entered its 56th day on Friday after another round of conciliation talks failed, with the Indian Nurses Association (INA) accusing the CPM-backed CITU and the RSS-affiliated BMS of adopting a position that helped hospital managements block a settlement.

The meeting, convened by the District Labour Officer (Enforcement) on the direction of District Collector P Vishnuraj, ended without an agreement on Friday, July 10. The Collector has called another round of talks with the hospital managements and the striking nurses at 1 pm on Saturday.

The nurses are demanding that the minimum monthly salary be raised to ₹40,000, saying most private hospitals pay only around ₹20,000 a month, far below the roughly ₹60,000 earned by nurses in government hospitals. 

INA state general secretary E A Mohammed Shihab said that hospital managements were divided during the discussions. While one section was willing to implement the minimum wages notified by the state government, another refused, he said. The protest committee alleged that the hospitals were openly defying both the government's decision and the district administration's intervention.

The nurses' body said the deadlock deepened after representatives of CITU and BMS insisted that any wage hike granted to nurses should simultaneously be extended to every category of employee in around 38 private hospitals across Kannur district, rather than being confined to the six hospitals where the strike is underway.

The two unions had withdrawn from the agitation on May 15 after reaching a separate wage settlement for non-nursing staff before the District Labour Officer. When the Collector convened fresh talks to resolve the nurses' strike, hospital managements requested that CITU and BMS representatives also be invited.

According to the INA, the two unions' insistence that the nurses' wage revision be linked to salary increases for all employees across the district effectively strengthened the hospitals' bargaining position. The managements then argued that extending the wage revision to all categories of employees would impose an unsustainable financial burden and consequently backed away from the negotiations, causing the talks to collapse, said Shihab. "The stand taken by CITU and BMS created a situation favourable to the managements and pushed the talks into another deadlock," he said.

'Round-the-clock protest'
Following the failure of the talks, the nurses intensified their agitation by launching a round-the-clock protest outside the Kannur Collectorate from Friday. They also organised a candlelight demonstration, Prathishedha Jwala (Flame of Protest), on Friday evening.

The protest was attended by Strike Support Committee chairman Rasheed Kavvayi, vice-chairman Ajay Kumar, Youth Congress district president Vigil Mohanan, Youth League district treasurer Shabeer Idayannur, Youth League district committee member Shakir Adoor, Congress leader Raiju Jaison, INA state general secretary Shihab, state joint secretary Anupama E K, district president Sophia Abraham, district secretary Prajitha Mavalli and district treasurer Muktha C M.