SHILLONG – NEIGRIHMS nurses have deferred their mass casual leave planned for 9 September. The dispute itself remains exactly where it was.
After a meeting with the institute administration on 8 September, the Nurses Association agreed to wait seven working days while the management carries the demands to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ahead of the Governing Council meeting. None of the demands have been withdrawn. If nothing concrete emerges, the association says it will begin an indefinite strike from 17 September under the 14-day notice already served.
The list is unchanged: regular recruitment of Nursing Officers against sanctioned vacancies, withdrawal of the proposal to outsource Nursing Officers, implementation of the Ministry’s Office Memorandum dated 30 May 2026, and early conduct of the pending recruitment examination.
The agitation had already moved beyond quiet complaint. Nurses wore black badges from 17 August and held daily symbolic dharnas from 18 to 21 August. A planned rally on 21 August was called off after prohibitory orders appeared.
On 19 August the association met Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla and NEIGRIHMS Director Prof Nalin Mehta. The response, the nurses said, was neither satisfactory nor time-bound.The 7 September circular had directed staff to join the mass casual leave on 9 September.
The next day that plan was put on hold after the administration asked for more time. Services will therefore function as usual on 9 September. The pressure has simply been postponed.
The new deadline is 17 September. The administration now has seven working days to produce something more than another request for patience.
