Kathmandu, 2 Nov: Nurses working in private hospitals will now receive salaries equivalent to those of government nurses. A 23-point agreement was reached on Saturday evening between the protesting nurses and concerned authorities. The agreement was signed by 14 representatives, including officials from the Nepal Nursing Association, the Ministry of Health, private medical college operators, and private hospital representatives. Following the successful talks, nurses who had been protesting for the past month have decided to suspend their strike. The Nepal Nursing Association announced that it will provide detailed information about the agreement during a press conference on Sunday.
According to Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, the negotiations, which lasted from Saturday morning until late at night, were successful. He said that private medical colleges and large hospitals will start providing government-equivalent salaries to nurses beginning in the Nepali month of Kartik. For other private hospitals, the task force formed to resolve nursing issues will submit a report within a month, after which government-level salaries will be implemented. For now, other hospitals have agreed to provide 80% of the government salary scale. The working committee’s deadline has been extended by one month.
The nurses had been demanding equal pay with government nurses, an end to labor exploitation, provision of night-shift allowances, a ban on hospitals keeping original certificates as employment security, and issuance of experience letters for their service periods.
Protest Called Off After Successful Negotiations
Nepal Nursing Association President Chandrakala Sharma announced that the nationwide protest by nurses has officially been withdrawn. She said the agreement ensures the fulfillment of nurses’ major demands, and the implementation will proceed based on the task force’s recommendations.
Meanwhile, nurses working in government hospitals had also raised separate demands, including making contract nurses permanent and eliminating the requirement to serve in remote areas for promotion.
“All members of the task force signed the agreement on Saturday evening,” said Ministry spokesperson Dr. Budhathoki. “This is a successful outcome of days of dialogue.”
Dr. Gyanendra Man Singh Karki, president of the Association of Private Medical and Dental Colleges of Nepal, confirmed that the talks among the government, the Nursing Association, and private health institution representatives concluded successfully. The meeting, held at the Ministry of Health and Population, was attended by Health Minister Dr. Sudha Sharma, Secretary Dr. Bikash Devkota, committee coordinator Dr. Shreekrishna Shrestha, spokesperson Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, Nursing Association President Chandrakala Sharma, General Secretary Dr. Devka Acharya, and Dr. Karki, among others.
