The labour department has fixed the minimum basic pay that private hospitals must pay its nurses following an SC order last year.The department has on March 3 issued a GO and the notification was published in the Gazette on Wednesday. However, pay levels fixed by the order is much lower than what SC recommended.
Private nursing homes and hospitals with 25 or lesser beds must now pay a minimum basic of Rs 15,824 to nurses. For other category hospitals, the basic pay is as follows: for 26 to 50-bed hospitals, Rs 15,874; for 51 to 100-bed hospitals, Rs 15,924; for 101 to 150-bed hospitals, Rs 15,974; for 151 to 200-bed hospitals, Rs 16,024; and for hospitals with more than 200 beds, Rs 16,124. The Apex Court in its order last year had recommended a minimum basic pay of Rs 20,000 for nurses in hospitals with less than 50 beds. Also, for hospitals with 50 to 100 beds, the court had said the pay must be 75 percent of what nurses in government hospitals get.
