Here's Why Outsourced Nurses In Telangana Are Protesting

Telangana nurses hired on an outsourced basis staged protests in the state as they demanded their reinstatement.

After their demonstrations at the Telangana Health Campus in Koti, the nurses were arrested outside Telangana Chief Minister's residence in Begumpet on Wednesday.

According to reports, the nurses were stopped by the police from entering the Chief Minister's house. The protesters sat on the streets and raised slogans against the government. They reportedly physically lifted by the police personnel and sent to police vehicles. The nurses were taken to different police stations, according to reports.

Why are outsourced Telangana nurses protesting?

• According to a report by The Hindu, 1,640 nurses were recruited by the government on an outsourcing basis for the tenure of April 2020 to March this year. This government order (GO) had come in March 2020. They were recently removed from their services.
• The protesters claimed that the government's action had brought them and their family members in crisis. They demanded their tenure to be extended for a few more years, according to reports.
• They also claimed that the advertisements for hiring the nurses were about contract jobs but they were instead given outsourced ones.
• During their demonstration in Telangana Health Campus, the nurses sought to meet with the Director of Medical Education (DME).
• According to a statement of a nurse quoted by Hindu, the outsourced nurses had received an extension till June after their tenure ended in March. They were then served a notice to not report at their duties at Government ENT Hospital and Gandhi Hospital from Wednesday. This is abrupt notice. Where are we supposed to go and work now," the nurse told Hindu.
• Many of the protestors had left their high-paying jobs at private jobs to switch to government ones hoping for a regularised post in the future, as per the report. They were being paid twenty-five thousand rupees per month at the government hospitals.
• The senior officials concerned with the matter said that as per the GO, the tenure of the outsourced ended in March. They were given an extension due to the COVID-19 situation. As per the officials, regular staff nurses have now been recruited at the government hospitals.