The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research has ordered the release of salary of more than 500 new nurses, who had changed their working hours without the approval of the administration. Sources in the administration confirmed to The Chandigarh Newsline on Sunday that such orders have been issued. “The salary is likely to be released on Monday,” said a PGI official. He termed the PGI’s decision “as part of the ongoing negotiations” between the administration and the nurses’ association over the issue of working hours. Earlier this month, the PGI administration had issued orders to keep the salaries of 575 new nurses on hold for allegedly changing their working hours without any approval. The nurses, who are on probation, were also served advisory notes. For nurses, there are three shifts, each for a duration of eight hours. The nurses, however, had recently begun demanding that their shifts be changed to morning (6 hours), evening (6 hours) and night (12 hours) instead of the morning (8 hours), evening (8 hours) and night (8 hours) shifts. A senior PGI official said the entire issue is likely to get settled on Monday before the labour commissioner. “We are now expecting an end to this issue. The negations are already on and both the parties will appear before the commission again on Monday,” said the official. Adding that a meeting was held between the nurses’ association and the PGI administration on Saturday, the official said, “ Several things were sorted out and it was also proposed that the three shifts will have revised working hours of 7, 7 and 10 respectively,” the official added. Confirming the meeting, a PGI nurse, also associated with the association, said: “A meeting was held on Saturday as well. The PGI administration has agreed on many points. We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved on Monday.”
