The following account of the strike’s collapse appeared in today’s Hindustan Times
THE AGITATING staff of the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre today called off their one month and nine day old strike almost unconditionally. The staff reportedly agreed to apply afresh individually and also sign on the regret letter as the BMHRC management had been insisting upon all along.
The staff members, who had been camping on the hospital campus since December 3, left the premises on Thursday evening after reaching an agreement with the management, it is learnt.
A series of events unfolded during Thursday with the staff members meeting Director General of the hospital Dr Indraneel Mitra in the afternoon and proposing to give en masse applications for fresh recruitment. However, they insisted that wordings of the regret letter that the management asked them to submit be amended.
At one time it looked as though the deadlock over the letter might thwart the chances of withdrawal of the strike with staff members even asking the management to accept their resignations and clear the accounts. The DG reportedly told them that their accounts would be settled by 6.30 pm on January 13.
However, by evening the staff members yielded and agreed to apply afresh individually. They also agreed to sign the regret letter after change of just one word in the proforma.
The regret statement which reportedly earlier read as “I tender unqualified apology for my mistake committed under certain pressure” now reads as “I tender unqualified apology for my mistake committed under certain circumstances”, sources said.
The staff members had been demanding dropping of the word “unqualified” and replacement of “mistake”.

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