Nursing staff slam Tamil Nadu government’s insistance on contractual recruitment

Nursing staff are questioning the Tamil Nadu government’s announcement to recruit nurses on contractual basis.

On Friday (September 18), the Tamil Nadu Nursing Staffs Association staged a protest at the Government Headquarters Medical College Hospital in Krishnagiri, condemning the move.

According to the association, nursing posts were filled in the past through the Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB), following reservations. The government, however, was currently preparing to fill nursing vacancies through an 11-month contractual employment at a salary of ₹21,000.

It was in 2022 that the government first attempted to break the MRB-based recruitments. Over 2,500 nurses recruited through the Medical Services Recruitment Board during COVID-19 were summarily dismissed on December 31, 2022. The district administration was then told to fill the same vacancies through the MRB on an 11-month contractual term.

According to the association, over 4,724 posts were being announced to be filled through contractual employment.