Shillong, Sep 8: The proposed mass casual leave by nurses at NEIGRIHMS on Wednesday has been temporarily deferred for seven working days.
The NEIGRIHMS Nurses Association (NNA) in a press release today, said the decision follows a meeting with the administration which requested a one-week deferment to facilitate follow-up with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the proposed Governing Council meeting.
In the interest of constructive dialogue, NNA agreed to defer the agitation.
NNA clarified the deferment is not a withdrawal of its long-pending demands – filling Nursing Officer vacancies through regular recruitment, withdrawal of outsourcing proposal, implementation of MoHFW OM dated 30.05.2026, and early conduct of pending recruitment exam, among others.
It expects meaningful, concrete and time-bound action in the extended period. Failing that, NNA will resume its proposed indefinite strike from September 17, as per its earlier 14-day notice.
Separately, a section of nursing personnel who had decided not to join the mass casual leave said patient safety cannot be compromised at a tertiary-care hospital.
They warned a sudden large-scale absence would hit nurse-patient ratio, delay medicines and monitoring, overload staff on duty, compromise infection control and put patients in ICU, emergency, surgical and high-dependency areas at avoidable risk.
“Nursing is not merely employment but service involving direct responsibility to human life. Patients should never become collateral damage in an employment dispute,” they said.
The group said not participating does not mean giving up legitimate demands on staffing and recruitment, but objected to any course that disrupts essential care.
They said they will report for duty and urged the administration to ensure uninterrupted services and resolve grievances through transparent, time-bound dialogue.
“Our demands may be negotiated. Our service conditions may be discussed. But a patient’s life cannot be negotiated,” they said.
