Pune: Services at Sassoon Hospital resume with minor hiccups after strike ends

Patient services at the Sassoon General Hospital resumed fully from Monday night after the strike for the old pension scheme was called off by Maharashtra government employees. 

Meanwhile, the striking class 3 and 4 employees reported to work today at Sassoon Hospital. However, the patients faced inconveniences throughout the day today, AIR reported. 

Hospitals were worst-hit due to strike

Lakhs of Maharashtra government employees were on strike for a week to demand the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), with the hospitals being the worst hit due to the agitation. The agitation was called off on Monday after a meeting between their representatives and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Chief Minister Shinde welcomed the decision to withdraw the strike, which had affected work at government offices and the functioning of state-run hospitals.

The government employees were on an indefinite strike since March 14 demanding restoration of the OPS which was discontinued in the state in 2005. On Tuesday, employees of civic bodies in rural areas had joined the strike. The doctors at government hospitals struggled as most of the nursing staff participated in the strike.

Even the leader of the opposition Ajit Pawar had raised the issue of health services getting affected in hospitals. 

However, the administration of Sassoon General Hospital had appealed to the nurses and other medical staff who were on strike to resume work. In response to the appeal, 60 to 65 percent of Class 4 employees had resumed work.