Lakeshore nurses threaten stir

KOCHI: The nurses of Lakeshore Hospital are gearing up for another agitation, with the management yet to fulfil the promises made in the agreement which ended the strike at the hospital. The nurses’ association will hold a meeting in this regard with the management on March 3, in the presence of Labour Department officials.“If the meeting does not help solve the issues, then we will launch an agitation from March 4. The situation is serious as the management has asked two probationary nurses, working for the past one year, to discontinue without any concrete reason. Also, the promised minimum salary for the nurses has not been paid,” said president of the Lakeshore Nurses’ Association, Vibin Chacko.The management, on the other hand, says the discontinued staff were trainees. “Those discontinued were trainees, not employees. It is a routine affair. We have trainees in various departments, but the Labour Department has directed us not to employ trainees to the nursing department in the future,” said Dr Philip Augustine, managing director of the hospital.