Esma On Nurses

Over 20,000 nurses in government hospitals in Delhi on Friday went on an indefinite agitation to press for higher salary and allowances, even as the government decided to crack down on the agitation by invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against them.

Cracking the whip, the Delhi government today invoked the stringent ESMA declaring as illegal the nurses' stir which has severely affected functioning of state-run hospitals at a time when the city was grappling with rising cases of dengue and chikungunya.

Over 20,000 nurses in government hospitals in Delhi on Friday went on an indefinite agitation to press for higher salary and allowances, even as the government decided to crack down on the agitation by invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against them.

Cracking the whip, the Delhi government today invoked the stringent ESMA declaring as illegal the nurses' stir which has severely affected functioning of state-run hospitals at a time when the city was grappling with rising cases of dengue and chikungunya.