The statewide indefinite strike called by government and semi-government employees in Maharashtra was suspended late on Friday evening, four days after it began, following discussions with the authorities. The strike had significantly disrupted operations at state-run facilities, including Sassoon General Hospital, where over 700 nurses had joined the protest in response to the call made by the Maharashtra State Government Employees Confederation (MSGEC).
Key Demands Addressed
The long-pending demands raised by the employees included the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme and an increase in the retirement age from 58 to 60 years. Pragya Gaikwad, president of the Maharashtra Government Nurses Association (Pune chapter), stated, "After multiple rounds of discussions with the government, primarily the chief secretary, our parent association decided to suspend the strike temporarily. The government has assured us that it will provide written assurances regarding our demands within the next 15 days. We will wait for a month, and if they fail to do so, we will resume the strike."
Impact on Hospital Services
The protest had steadily paralysed operations at Sassoon Hospital, the largest tertiary care facility in western Maharashtra, since Tuesday. Hundreds of major and minor surgeries and new admissions were postponed, forcing many patients to seek private hospital options. With the suspension of the strike, many are now hoping for relief.
On Friday, hospital authorities had deployed nursing students to fill the shortfall, but the lack of skilled and experienced nurses hampered operations, compelling the hospital to avoid additional patient load. Dr. Yallapa Jadhav, medical superintendent at Sassoon, said earlier on Friday, "I appealed to all the nurses participating in the strike to end it and resume their work. Planned surgeries and new admissions have definitely been hampered. We wrote to the state health department to provide us with some nurses from secondary and primary healthcare centres. We received around 400 nurses from nursing colleges and other hospitals, but it is still not enough to fulfill the daily work demand here."
Gaikwad clarified that the striking nurses were attending to emergency services, but not planned surgeries or general ward patients.
