The Joint Action Committee of the regular employees of federal government hospitals have threatened to use all possible means, including protest marches and demonstrations, if no action were taken by the higher authorities to end the ‘discriminatory attitude’ against the 85 percent of employees, who have not opted for the newly-introduced Career Structure for Health Personals (CSHP), by the 5th of this month.
The Joint Action Committee has written a letter to the president, prime minister, chief justice and Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) secretary to take notice of the discrimination by the management of hospitals like PIMS, Poly Clinic and NIRMS.
According to the letter, the administration, especially PIMS Executive Director Mehmood Jamal, who want CSHP to be implemented soon, is displacing the regular employees from their positions as they have opted for the BSP.
However, the employees and officers choosing the BPS are being posted against lucrative positions in spite of the fact that they are not eligible and belong to the irrelevant cadres.
This is not only causing deterioration in patient care services but also making the institution vulnerable to defamation and destruction.
The letter said the post-graduate students (PGs), who are not regular employees, were provoked and assisted for the strikes, which paralysed the patient care for more than 36 days.
“No disciplinary action was taken against them even when they interrupted the senior doctors and stopped them from providing services to the poor patients,” it said.
“Surprisingly, they were being facilitated in displaying banners and contacting media. However, when the regular employees raised their voice in favour of poor patients, the administration started threatening them of dire consequences and tried to suppress them by hook or by crook,” it added.
The letter said thirteen doctors leading the strikes, who were working on contract basis against leave vacancies, were regularised illegally and unlawfully. However, the contractual medical officers (CMOs), working on contract against the vacancies duly sanctioned, had been deprived of the right of regularisation on the pretext that they had service less than one year service.
“Similarly the ED has stopped the promotion cases of the senior doctors and other regular employees who opted to remain in the BPS Scheme but the doctors opting for the CSHP have been awarded with promotions,” the letter claimed.
Another discriminatory action of the ED mentioned in the letter is that he is not allowing the use of auditorium and offices for peaceful consultative meeting of the regular employees, forcing them to gather places like tea corners after duty hours, which allow the general public to intervene and influence the process. “This may end up in uncontrolled public gathering for which the regular employees will not be responsible.”
The stipend of under training doctors, who have demonstrated publicly on the roads and interrupted the patient care in the hospitals during strike, has been increased. Similarly, the pay packages of employees, favouring CSHP have been revised.
However, the lawful and peaceful request of more than 5,000 regular civil servants (who opted to remain in BPS) is not being given any heed.
“This is causing frustration and unrest and may end up in serious reactions by the regular BPS employees, which will be the sole responsibility of the administration in the hospitals and in the ministries and divisions.”
The committee requested the president, prime minister, chief justice and CADD secretary to immediately take action to stop discrimination and displacement of BPS employees, whereas those who have been displaced may be restored to their positions.
