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Nearly three lakh nurses in private hospitals in Kerala who had been on strike for the past 22 days. Their main demand for implementation of the wage recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed Jagdish Prasad committee had been accepted by the government.

Dr. Jagdish Prasad Committee

It found that adequate salary and basic facilities are not provided to nurses in private hospitals and nursing homes.

• Private hospitals with number of beds ranging between 50 and 100, the salary of nurses should not be less than 25 per cent of that drawn by government nurses of the same grade.
• The salary given to private nurses should not be less than Rs. 20,000 per month in any case even for nurses working with hospitals with less than 50 beds.
• The working hours, medical facilities, transportation, accommodation and other benefits given to private nurses would be on a par with government nurses.

First implemented by Kerala

• Kerala has become the first State to implement the recommendations of the committee.
• Accordingly, the minimum salary of nurses working in hospitals with 50 beds has been fixed at ₹20,000.

Source : The Hindu

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