As many as 220 nurses working for the famous Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad have started boycotting duties from Saturday. This is an indefinite strike.

Their demands pertain to regularization and hiking of salaries. "It was in 2007 that they were recruited on a contract basis. There hasn't been a hike since then," a report suggests.

Social media influencer and journalist Revathi says, "These front line warriors are working for a meager Rs 15,000 and risking their lives in these Covid-19 times."

The New Indian Express reports that Gandhi Hospital has around 140 nurses on its payroll and 100 more outsourced nurses. "The issue stems from a recent development, wherein the Telangana government had recruited nurses on an outsourcing basis at Gandhi Hospital with a salary of Rs 25,140 per month for staff nurses and Rs 29,760 for head nurses," the report adds.

Naturally, this has not gone down well with those who have been working for 13 years at a much lower wage rate.