Kerala High Court Directs State To Revise Minimum Wages Of Nurses In Private Sector

The Kerala High Court has directed the State government to revise the minimum wage of nurses working in the private sector in the State. 

The Single Judge Bench of Justice Amit Rawal has directed that the said exercise ought to be undertaken within a period of 3 months. The Court has added that the said decision has to be taken after hearing the submissions of the hospital Management and the nurses. 

The Court was considering the petition filed by the Kerala State United Nurses Association. The State government had in 2018, issued an order prescribing Rs. 20,000/- per month as the minimum wage for nurses in hospitals having 50 beds. The maximum limit that was imposed by the said order was Rs. 30,000/-. 

The Nurses Association contended that the said wages were insufficient, and stated that their salaries was well below that of those employed in the government sector. They pointed out that their counterparts in the government sector earned Rs. 39,300/- per month, and that their salaries also had to be raised to the same standard. The hospital managements on their part argued that they had not been consulted when the State government fixed the said salary.

The nurses in the private hospitals had resorted to strike in order to make their demands heard. 

It is in this light that the Court has passed the order. 

Case Title: Kerala State United Nurses Association v. State of Kerala 

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 41