Nursing officers working in Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospitals have launched a nationwide democratic trade union agitation against what they describe as illegal, arbitrary and large-scale mandatory transfers implemented under the Annual General Transfer (AGT)-2026.As the first phase of the agitation, nursing officers will wear black badges from July 16 to 18 while attending duty in all ESIC medical institutions, ESIC hospitals and dispensary-cum-branch offices (DCBOs) across the country. The agitation has been called by the All India ESIC Nursing Officers’ Federation (AIESICNOF). In Kerala, the protest will be observed at ESIC Hospitals, Asramam (Kollam), Ezhukone (Kollam), Udyogamandal (Ernakulam) and at ESIC DCBOs at Munnar and Thazhakkode.The federation alleged that the AGT-2026 transfer orders were issued in complete violation of the existing transfer policy, without transparent or objective criteria, and contrary to the principles of fairness, equality and natural justice. It further stated that the transfers violate repeated assurances given by the Director General, ESIC, and the Union Minister for Labour & Employment that mandatory transfers in the Nursing Cadre would not be implemented and that transfers would be considered only on request against available vacancies.The federation has already served a formal strike notice on the Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Chairman, ESIC. If the issues remain unresolved, the federation has announced a nationwide mass casual leave on July 21, followed by an indefinite strike from July 22 onwards. Published - July 15, 2026 07:58 pm IST