Delhi High Court bars AIIMS Nursing Union from continuing indefinite strike; check details

The Delhi High Court has barred AIIMS Nursing Union from continuing indefinite strike.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday barred All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Nursing Union from continuing their indefinite strike. The order was given by Justice Naveen Chawla on the petition of AIIMS.

The AIIMS administration said that the demands of the nurses are being considered. The court said on behalf of AIIMS that COVID-19 is the time of pandemic and therefore, "we cannot go on strike".

The next hearing is on January 18. A meeting between AIIMS director Randeep Guleria and nurses union is scheduled to take place shortly.

The AIIMS Nurses Union went on an indefinite strike from December 14 (Monday) over their long-pending demands, including those with regard to the Sixth Central Pay Commission and against contractual appointments, even as AIIMS director appealed them to call off their agitation and return to work.

As around 5,000 nurses went on strike hampering patient care services at the premier hospital, the AIIMS Director on Monday in a video message termed the strike in the time of pandemic as "inappropriate and unfortunate".

"I appeal to all the nurses and nursing officers not to go on strike, and not to make us feel embarrassed about the dignity that we have as far as the nurses are concerned. I, therefore, appeal to all of you to come back and work and really help us get through this pandemic," he had said in an emotional message.

The strike was earlier scheduled to start from December 16. Guleria said the nurses union had put in 23 demands and almost all of them have been met by the AIIMS administration and the government. He said one of the demands is basically a perceived anomaly in the fixation of the initial payment as per the Sixth Central Pay Commission (CPC) is concerned.

The AIIMS director said multiple meetings have been held with the nurses union not only by the AIIMS administration but by the economic adviser in the Ministry of Health, representatives of the department of expenditure and also the person who drafted the 6th CPC was also present in the meeting and that it was explained to them that the interpretation is not correct.

Besides the demands with regard to the sixth CPC, nurses have also been demanding redressal of issues such as the abolishment of gender-based reservation in the recruiting process of nursing officers and contractual appointments, enhancement of hospital accommodation and cadre restructuring.

In a letter to the director, the Union said no solid solution was taken by the AIIMS administration and rather their demand related to the 6th central pay commission anomaly was turned down. "Adding to this, it is shocking to know that the AIIMS administration decided to recruit nursing officers on contractual basis immediately which is against our demands," the Union said in the letter.

AIIMS had issued a statement stating the nursing union of AIIMS, New Delhi has gone on a strike in contravention of the direction of the High Court of Delhi in relation to the code of conduct laid down, whereby no employee or staff or faculty member, will cease work for any reason whatsoever or shout slogans or hold demonstrations within the campus or hold gate meeting within 500 meters radius of the institute boundary.