Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, JULY 1
The Nagaland Staff Nurse Association (NSNA) has decided to extend its second phase agitation which is being undertaken in the form of mass casual leave, for three more days starting from July 2. Announcing this during a press conference held today in the premises of NHAK Kohima, NSNA members said they are determined and will continue to fight for justice.
Reacting to the statement of the Health & Family Welfare officials which appeared in the news on Wednesday, the NSNA members reminded the department that the association has rejected the proposed draft amendment of Nagaland Nursing Service Rules (NSR) 2014 on March 9 last. They reiterated that the association would stick to its demands.
While they agreed that discontentment among nurses sprouted from the NSR 1988, their main point of contention was that the NSR was violated for the past many years and is now being amended. The NSNA members alleged that the NSR which is in current use has several unauthorised omission when compared with the original copy of the NSR 1988. They observed that if the Service Rule was followed properly right from the beginning then the violation would not have come up.
With regard to the proposed amendment, they said that their main points of demand are not surfacing in the draft. They implied that though they have issued a non-acceptance letter to the commissioner & secretary H&FW in March, they are not totally against amendment as long as the association’s demands are fulfilled at the earliest.
“Our urgent demand is for the government to fulfil our two demands,” said one of the NSNA officials.
Another member added, “We understand that amendment will take time, but what about the senior staff nurses who are retiring before the process is complete? We are asking for an alternate arrangement and not for amendment of Service Rule.”
On the department officials’ reference of NSR 1988’s eligibility criteria for promotion- diploma course (training) on ward management for at least 3 months duration, NSNA officials said the government has abruptly stopped notifying the staff nurses to attend such trainings. The last notice issued for the said training came in 1999 and has stopped after that, they said.
The NSNA has, on June 26 launched its phase-wise agitation to protest against non fulfilment of their two-point demand by the state government. They are demanding that the government channelize the functions of staff nurses and allow BSc Nursing staff nurses and diploma holders to the teaching/tutoring lines or functions as specified in the 1988 Service Rule. The other demand is to make analogical gradation applicable to General Nursing staff nurses.
