The health department’s decision to fill 4,724 vacant posts of staff nurses, who were previously selected through the Medical Services Recruitment Board, through the District Health Societies on an 11-month temporary contract basis at a monthly salary of ₹21,000, has drawn flak. Strongly opposing this move, the Tamil Nadu Nurses Empowerment Association has demanded that the department withdraw the decision and appoint staff on permanent basis.
In a notification issued, The District Health Society, National Health Mission, Tamil Nadu, invited applications for the post of contractual/temporary staff nurses on contract basis/purely temporary in nature from eligible candidates against the vacancies available in institutions under the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, and the Greater Chennai Corporation.
The selected nurses will be paid a consolidated monthly remuneration of ₹21,000 and the minimum period of service for this position is two years, with the contract being renewed after every 11 months, subject to performance appraisal, it said.
The association’s general secretary N. Subin, in a statement, said that the decision is worrying because on one side, there was an acute shortage of nurses in government hospitals, while on the other side, there were nearly 4.75 lakh registered nurses in the State, majority of whom are waiting for government jobs.
Nurses hired on a temporary basis were denied opportunities of permanent employment in the future. Appointing them at low pay without any guarantee of job security is against social justice. In addition, such contractual recruitments could reduce the quality of healthcare. Since temporary nurses will mostly be posted at Primary Health Centres in rural areas, there were chances that the quality of healthcare provided in rural areas could decline significantly, the association said.
Temporary appointments in a service sector like public health were dangerous, the association said. It reiterated the need to have permanent staff for the health department and urged it to withdraw the decision and take steps to recruit all healthcare staff on a permanent basis to ensure the stable functioning of the department.
Published – September 13, 2026 05:30 am IST
