PGI nursing staff to launch agitation today
The PGI Nurses Welfare Association has announced a peaceful protest from July 21 to draw attention to their long-pending demands affecting the nursing staff at the premier medical institute.
The protest, which will be held daily from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm outside the office of the PGI Director, will be strictly conducted after duty hours to ensure uninterrupted patient care and institutional functioning, said association president Manjeek Kaur.
In a formal communication to PGIMER authorities, Manjeek Kaur and association general secretary Rai Singh Thory noted that the demonstration is being organised in response to persistent administrative delays, policy inaction and a growing sense of professional, physical and mental exhaustion among nurses.
Their main grievance centres around the prolonged delay in holding the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting for the post of Senior Nursing Officer—pending for over three years. Although a hearing on the matter concluded before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in April 2025, the judgment was reserved, resulting in career stagnation for many eligible officers.
Other key issues include a delay in DPC proceedings for 10 sanctioned posts of Assistant Nursing Superintendent, a demand for officiating appointments for vacant Deputy Nursing Superintendent positions. The nurses are also demanding urgent framing of an age policy for night duties. Staff members close to retirement are particularly affected as they continue to perform demanding night shifts due to delayed promotions.
The association also flagged staff shortage as a chronic problem, forcing nurses — especially in general wards and critical care units — to manage workload up to four times the safe limit, impacting both patient care and staff well-being.
Other demands include the long-overdue release of Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) benefits, a regular appointment to the post of Chief Nursing Officer (vacant for years) and amendments to recruitment rules to ensure fair representation in leadership roles.
Nurses have also objected to being burdened with non-clinical responsibilities such as indenting work, especially in high-demand wards serving Ayushman Bharat and other Central health schemes. They argue such duties should be reassigned to administrative or ward-level staff.
Additional demands include a revision of qualification pay rates and implementation of a unified cadre gradation across PGI and its satellite centres.
“The protest is not by choice, but out of compulsion,” said Manjeek Kaur. “We’ve raised our concerns repeatedly, in writing and in meetings, with patience and hope. But nothing has changed.”
The PGI Nurses Welfare Association has stressed upon the fact that nurses are the healthcare providers, but today, they are the ones suffering and being forced to raise their voice.
The Tribune had previously reported how PGIMER is currently facing a critical shortage of over 3,000 nursing officers, based on SIU norms. “PGI’s existing nursing staff is handling three to four times the recommended patient load, directly compromising patient safety and staff well-being. This is not a sustainable situation. It is a crisis,” said Manjeek Kaur.
The association has reiterated that their protest will remain peaceful and professional, reflecting the dedication of a workforce pushed to the brink.
Chandigarh