Maharashtra Nurses Call Off Statewide Strike After Written Assurance

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Nurses Association has called off its statewide strike from July 24, 2025, after receiving a written assurance from the Principal Secretary of Medical Education and Research. Around 30,000 nurses across the state had been on strike since July 18 to press for various demands, including immediate recruitment for vacant posts, an end to contractual hiring, and equal implementation of Seventh Pay Commission benefits for all nursing staff.

Sumitra Tote, General Secretary of the Maharashtra State Nurses Association, said the strike was withdrawn following a positive meeting with Dheeraj Kumar, Principal Secretary, Medical Education and Research. “We have received a written assurance regarding our demands. Therefore, the Maharashtra State Nurses Association, Headquarters Latur, is calling off its statewide strike from July 24, 2025,” Tote said.

Earlier, the association had refused to end the strike even after a key meeting with Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, insisting that the strike would continue until they received written confirmation of their demands.

The nurses’ protest also received support from the State Government Group-D (Class IV) Employees Federation. Core demands included immediate cancellation of contractual hiring, 100% permanent recruitment, timely promotions to fill thousands of vacant posts, and resolution of long-pending pay anomalies under the Seventh Pay Commission.

Despite two sets of recommendations by the Bakshi Committee since 2017, pay disparities among staff nurses, sister-in-charges, and nursing tutors remain unresolved.

During the strike, state-run hospitals managed with the help of nursing students; however, many major surgeries were postponed. According to officials, around 2,000 major and minor surgeries and procedures were postponed in Mumbai during this period.