By Geeteshwori Moirangthem
Principal, Department of Nursing, Mahatma Gandhi University
Nursing is not a disposable profession. Yet in Manipur, nurses are being pushed into severe insecurity and exploitation. Fresh graduates are paid as little as Rs.5,000 a month, some receive no salary at all, and even experienced nurses and nursing educators are forced to survive on Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000 per month in the private sector.
This is not merely low pay—it is systemic neglect and the devaluation of a life-saving profession. Fear of termination prevents many nurses from speaking out, while more than a thousand have been compelled to migrate to other states and even abroad in search of dignity, safety, better opportunities, and an improved quality of life.
Nurses and other healthcare workers deserve dignity, fair wages, and job security—not exploitation and uncertainty while performing life-saving duties. When a single LPG cylinder costs around Rs. 2,500, a monthly salary of Rs. 5,000 is not merely inadequate—it is outright exploitation. No working professional can survive under such conditions.
This exposes a harsh reality: private-sector employers are treating nurses as disposable labour rather than skilled professionals. This is not accidental underpayment; it is the systematic devaluation of an essential profession. If nurses continue to be forced to work under such conditions, the collapse of healthcare services is not a possibility—it is inevitable.
Nurses are frontline healthcare professionals and the backbone of the healthcare system. Day and night, they stand beside patients, shoulder immense responsibility, work under relentless pressure, and often risk their own well-being to save lives. Nursing educators are equally indispensable, preparing and mentoring the next generation of nurses who will carry the healthcare system forward.
Yet, despite their critical role, many nurses and nursing educators remain underpaid and undervalued. This is not merely a salary issue; it is an issue of respect, dignity, and justice. If those entrusted with caring for lives are denied fair compensation, what message does that send about the value of the profession? Nurses are not asking for privileges—they are demanding the recognition, respect, and fair remuneration that their service deserves.
The Government of Manipur and the Manipur Nursing Council must urgently intervene to standardise salary structures for nurses and nursing educators working in the private sector, ensuring fair wages, professional respect, and decent working conditions. Healthcare deals with human lives, not machines or statues. Therefore, insecurity and chronic underpayment have no place in this profession. Nurses and nursing educators must be guaranteed job security, fair salaries, and respect because they are the backbone of healthcare, directly safeguarding lives while shaping the future of the profession.
I have the option to remain silent, but I refuse to do so. My voice is not for myself alone—it is for the dignity of my profession, for every struggling nurse and nursing educator today, and for the future generation of nurses who should not inherit the same system of neglect, insecurity, and injustice.
Suggested headline improvements
- Underpaid Nurses, Undervalued Nation, Betrayed Healthcare
- When Nurses Are Underpaid, Healthcare Suffers
- The Cost of Underpaying Nurses in Manipur
- Manipur’s Underpaid Nurses: A Crisis Demanding Urgent Action
Editorial note: The statement “Manipur is found to have underpaid salaries for nurses in the private sector compared to the rest of India” is a factual claim. Unless supported by a government report, survey, or research study, it would be safer to write:
“Private-sector nurses in Manipur receive some of the lowest salaries in the country, according to accounts from nursing professionals and institutions.” or cite the source supporting the claim. This strengthens the article’s credibility and avoids making an unsupported factual assertion.