Kerala nurses first joined together at Thrissur district. The first meeting was about the increased threat of seizing the assets of nursing students who had taken educational loans. Then, Beena Baby, a Malayalee nurse, committed suicide while working at a hospital in Mumbai due to staff bullying, illegal management practices and bond issues. The so-called "bond system" executed by the Mumbai based hospital was an indirect violation of the Bonded Labor System Act, 1976. Ms Baby's death triggered a public outcry, leading to the formation of "UNA", along with many other nurse associations. United Nurses Association was created by Jasminsha and six other working nurses of Thrissur on 16 November 2011. UNA gained awareness among nurses and society through social media.
Achievements
United Nurses Association contains 5.5 lakh family members as working and retired nurses in Kerala state. Another 3.5 lakh members joined from outside Kerala. Approximately another 9 lakh people are in members' families. UNA campaigns extended protection to all hospital staff members, expanding membership. The organization increased minimum nursing salaries from Rs.800 to Rs.2000 as a result of strikes. UNA has committees in every district of Kerala and 457 hospital units work under the 14 district committees. The organisation has support in many states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Goa, Paschima Bengal, Bihar, Manipur and Rajasthan. 400 units are active in these states. In Delhi alone, UNA has 12,623 members and 6000 permanent members among 137 units situated at Delhi NCR. The Maharashtra state committee includes 11,020 family members and 48 strong units in Mumbai and Pune. Karnataka state committee includes 7,813 members. The organisation has an active National Committee that includes every state representative, led by Jasminsha, President and Sudheep M.V, General Secretary. United Nurses Association has coordination committees and affiliated associations in countries including Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Canada, New Zealand, Libiya, Switzerland, Malaysia, Bahrain, US, Oman, Malta and South Africa. UNIQ and SINA got approval from the Indian Embassy. The organisation actively participates in charity activities beyond the nursing community.
Chartered Flights
During the COVID-19 pandemic, United Nurses Association arranged chartered flights for stranded nurses in Saudi Arabia in association with Avas charitable trust. The chartered flights were coordinated by Mr. Jithin Lohi international coordinator, Mr. Jasminsha President and the leaders of UNA. The coordinations successfully handled only with the help of Whatsapp groups. The first chartered flight from Saudi was on 07th June 2020, from Riyadh to Kochi. Since then UNA had successfully scheduled and executed 7 chartered flights from Riyad, Dammam and Jeddah.
