Bhubaneswar, Aug. 4: The Naveen Patnaik government today decided to pay uniform allowance to contractual nurses working in the state’s three government medical colleges and other government hospitals.

The decision was taken by the new finance minister, Prasanna Acharya, who was earlier holding the health and family welfare portfolio.

According to the decision, staff nurses are now entitled to get Rs 3,000 annually as uniform allowance. The government has also revised the annual dress allowance for sisters, matrons and assistant matrons to Rs 3,000.

Earlier, staff nurses used to get an annual dress allowance of Rs 1,500, while contractual nurses did not get any such benefit. Sisters, matrons and assistant matrons used to get an annual dress allowance of Rs 1,200 before this revision. The revision decision will be effective from this month.

An allowance for purchasing uniforms was one of the main demands of the All Odisha Contractual Nurses’ Association, which had staged a ceasework for 11 days paralysing healthcare services in Odisha.

Members of the contractual nurses’ association today welcomed the new decision, while saying that this was their first victory.

“We have been demanding various allowances. Finally, the government has agreed to pay uniform allowance. We are hopeful that the government will fulfil our other demands too,” said Gangadhar Panigrahi, president of the All Odisha Contractual Nurses’ Association.