The Punjab Finance Department has refused to include blood transfusion officers and demonstrators in the special salary package of Rs 5.2 billion announced by the chief minister, creating a lot of complications and resentment among stakeholders, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to details, the CM had already approved a summary of Rs 5.2 billion for the medical community, including doctors, nurses and paramedics. According to the summary, house officers and PG trainees will get Rs 24,000 and Rs 42,500 respectively, while Rs 15,000 health professional allowance was announced for BPS-17 officers and Rs 10,000 for BPS-18 officers and above. Sources privy to the development revealed that the finance department “missed” blood transfusion officers, demonstrators, women medical officers, senior demonstrators and senior women medical officers in the summary.
This led to a lot of confusion as heads of various teaching hospitals refused to issue the increased salary to the aforementioned categories of medical professionals, creating a lot of resentment among them.
Officials in the health department pointed this out to finance officials who “in principle” then agreed to include all but blood transfusion officers and demonstrators in the summary.
“The health department has thrice requested the finance department to resolve the matter and include the two left out categories of officials in BPS-17 in the summary approved by the CM as it meant benefit for all BPS-17 employees and the health department also approved it with this understanding,” sources said adding that the finance officials are using “delaying tactics” by seeking different details of the case.
Punjab Finance Secretary Tariq Bajwa said that the summary approved by the chief minister will be implemented with benefit for “doctors” as has been mentioned in the summary.
“However, finance officials have this understanding that the summary did not mean raise for categories other than doctors.
The blood transfusion officers are not doctors and hence will not get the benefit. If someone considers them doctors, this does not make them doctors,” he added.
