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

Tamil Nadu Nursing Staffs Association staging a protest outside the the Government Headquarters Medical College Hospital in Krishnagiri on Friday. | Photo Credit: N. BASHKARAN 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.The objective of this move was to evade responsibility of making the nursing posts permanent and continue to keep nurses as contractual workers, the association said.Earlier, the association had secured a court stay on the matter, but the stay was lifted earlier this month. Following this, an announcement was made to fill 4,724 posts on contract basis.According to the association, the government hospitals were running on a poor patient-to-nurse ratio.According to the protesters, instead of filling vacancies through the regular MRB mode, the government chose to fight the nurses in the courts for three years, weakening healthcare.The government’s declination to fill nursing positions through regular MRB mode also revealed its obstinate refusal to recruit educated unemployed youth. This would weaken healthcare delivery through government hospitals, the protesters said. Published - September 18, 2026 11:16 pm IST