Nov 02, Kathmandu - Nurses at privately run hospitals, who were protesting for fair pay and benefits, have returned to work following an agreement with the government.

They have returned to work after an agreement was reached to provide salaries at the same level as the government fifth level (34,730 rupees per month) from private medical colleges and large private hospitals since Kartik. Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, said that a 23-point agreement has been reached with nurses and private medical colleges and hospitals. Today, spokesperson Budhathoki said that it has been agreed to classify the remaining large and small hospitals and provide government-level services to the large ones immediately and to the medium ones after a few weeks or months. He said that it has been agreed to classify the hospitals within a month and gradually bring them to the same level as the government. He also said that it has been agreed that the salary received by nurses working in any hospital or medical college will not be reduced even if it is higher than the fifth level.

He also said that monitoring and inspection teams have been formed in all seven provinces to study the implementation status of the tripartite agreement between health workers, private medical colleges and the government. According to him, representatives of the Nursing Association, representatives of the agitating nurses, representatives of the District Administration Office and the Ministry of Health of the concerned province have been placed in the monitoring committee. He said that the monitoring committee will write to the association after monitoring whether the tripartite agreement has been implemented or not. He also said that the government is committed to taking action against private hospitals and medical colleges that do not implement the agreement.