GCC Nurses in Chennai Flag Attendance App Glitches and Fear Salary Deductions

Nurses working at the Greater Chennai Corporation-run Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) across Chennai have raised concerns over technical glitches in a mandatory mobile attendance app, which they fear could lead to unfair leave and salary deductions. The issue escalated in July after the civic body made regular use of the app mandatory for salary processing for National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) nurses.

According to the affected staff, the mobile application frequently freezes and suffers from slow facial recognition and location-tracking processes. These technical delays cause nurses to be marked late even when they arrive at their health centres before the official grace period ends.

Under the current rules, three late entries result in the deduction of one casual leave day. An additional three late entries can lead to a loss of pay. Nurses reported that the app-related issues add to their existing workload, which is already high due to staff shortages across the city's 138 UPHCs.

Several nurses demonstrated the technical difficulties, noting that the app often takes more than a minute to load and causes their mobile phones to become unresponsive. To successfully log in, users must complete a facial recognition process by blinking, smiling, or nodding, and then wait for the app to fetch their GPS coordinates and display the location name before submitting. The entire process can take up to five minutes.

In one instance, a nurse who arrived at her UPHC at 8:12 a.m.—two minutes before the 8:14 a.m. grace period ended—was unable to complete her check-in until 8:17 a.m. due to app delays, resulting in her being marked late.

The staff noted that the previous biometric and facial recognition attendance system was simpler and faster. They are calling on the corporation to resolve the technical glitches, extend the grace period, or restore the previous biometric system.

The app has reportedly only been made mandatory for NUHM contract nurses, while permanent employees do not use it. Last month, these workers staged a protest at the Ripon Building after receiving reduced salaries for June, which they alleged were calculated using the app's data without prior notice.

A Greater Chennai Corporation official from the public health department stated that the administration has requested the app be completely optimised to eliminate technical glitches. The official added that nurses facing errors can report them to their respective zonal health officers, noting that attendance marking has improved compared to the previous month.