Over 25,000 nurses on strike over contract jobs

Thousands of the state’s nurses declared an indefinite strike and suspended services on Thursday demanding that contractual recruitment of nurses be halted, allowances increased, and vacant posts filled to reduce their workload in government hospitals across Maharashtra.

- Aditi Shekar

This strike is a part of a statewide protest held by the 47 branches of the Maharashtra State Nursing Association (MSNA) against the medical education department's June 6 decision to hire nurses on a contractual basis.

What began as a two-day strike from 10am to 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, with nurses continuing their work at hospitals, has now developed into an indefinite strike affecting the state's major government hospitals, public health centres and other medical establishments.