Why Kerala nurses’ strike is a headache for the LDF govt before state polls | Explained

As of today (March 8), the showdown between the Kerala government and the United Nurses Association (UNA) has reached a critical boiling point, with the indefinite strike set to begin on March 9. 

This escalation comes at a politically sensitive time for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government. The 2026 Assembly Election notification is expected within days and polling in the state is likely to be scheduled for mid-April.

The strike comes after UNA officially rejected the State Labour Department’s recent draft notification on Saturday which proposed a minimum wage hike ranging from ₹25,450 to ₹30,800. 

The association remains “non-negotiable” on its demand for a ₹40,000 basic salary, a figure they argue is essential given a sharp rise in the cost of living and the “pathetic” condition of professionals in the private sector. 

The UNA has made it clear that the strike will be selective but severe. Hospitals that agree to the ₹40,000 basic pay will be exempted from the protest, a move designed to pressure individual private hospitals while minimising total collapse in patient care.

According to a report published by The Times of India, UN State Secretary Jasmin Shah has recently stated that 13 private hospital managements will be exempted from the strike who all have agreed to the demand. 

“We will continue our protests at hospitals that are not willing to give the demanded salary,” Jaminsha stated. “There will be no compromise on the ₹40,000 figure. Hospitals that comply are free to operate; the rest will face a total shutdown of nursing services,” she added.

While routine services are expected to be hit, the association has assured that emergency and trauma services will remain outside the purview of the strike for the time being.

Why now? Context behind the deadlock

The current unrest is not a sudden flare-up but the climax of a long-simmering wage dispute. According to UNA leadership, there has been no substantial revision of the basic salary for private sector nurses since 2018.

The last revision that took place in 2018 fixed minimum wages between Rs 20,000 and above on the bed strength of hospitals. After the update in 2018, a salary revision was announced in 2023 based on earlier UNA protests, but the union alleges it was never effectively implemented on the ground.

In the latest development, the State Labour Department decided to raise the minimum salary from Rs 20,000 to Rs 28,000 (with those in 800+ bed hospitals potentially hitting Rs 40,000) which was rejected by the UNA for the aforementioned reasons.

Political response

The government has taken a hard line against the strike, framing it as an election-season ploy rather than a labour issue. Kerela’s Labour Minister V Sivankutty has termed the strike “purely political”, alleging that the Congress party is using the nurses’ association to create unrest before the polls. 

He stated that the draft notification was a fair move and that the strike is an attempt to “sabotage” the government’s efforts. Meanwhile opposition leaders like Ramesh Chennithala have already joined the protest marches, successfully framing the LDF as “siding with private hospital managements” rather than the workers.

Kerala’s healthcare budget

Notably, the strike comes despite the state allocating record funds to healthcare in the 2026-27 Budget. While the government is actively trying to highlight its “Care Economy” model, front-line private-sector workers claim they are being left behind.

If the strike persists into the election notification period, the Model Code of Conduct will prevent the government from making any new financial promises, effectively locking them into this standoff. Reports by TOI suggest that given how nurses represent a sizable proportion of the middle-class population in the state, if the strikes continue they could mark a major dent at the ruling party’s pro-labor image.