The staff of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Poly Clinic and the National Institute of Rehabilitative Medicine observed a complete strike on Tuesday against the privatisation of the government hospitals and the non-implementation of the Basic Pay Scale (BPS) system.
A large number of protesters gathered outside the parliament house and staged a sit-in, chanting slogans in favour of their demands.
Jamaat-e-Islami Leader Mian Muhammad Aslam also joined the protestors.
Aslam said the privatisation was similar to selling the government departments on discounted rates. He announced that his party would join the protesting medical staff and would not allow the government to privatise the hospitals at any cost.
He said: “The government has failed to deliver and people from all walks of life have been forced to come out on the streets against the government’s apathy.” He stated that patients were suffering due to the strike and added that the demands of doctors were justified and that the government should revise the BPS of the medical and non-medical staff.
Joint Action Committee member Raja Ilyas said the staff did not want to create difficulties for the patients and that on the assurance of the government officials, including Khursheed Shah, Nayyar Bukhari, Nargis Sethi, and others, they decided to hold a token strike instead of a day-long strike.
He said the officials had announced the Health Personnel Pay Scale (HPS) in the National Assembly but the non-medical staff rejected it and preferred to remain under the old basic pay scale (BPS) service structure. The protestors demanded that all the non-medical gazetted and non-gazetted staff be promoted to a higher service structure grade. They also asked for their salaries to be paid out of the voted budget and for the provision of facilities, perks and privileges and monthly Hospital Risk Allowance. He said a JAC delegation met the federal ministers and senators who assured the revision of the new service structure. JAC office bearers said a majority of the PIMS and Poly Clinic employees favoured the BPS system but the policy makers were bent on destroying the hospitals.
The protestors alleged that the government wanted to lease out the hospitals but it will not be allowed to do so. Hundreds of patients who visit these hospitals have suffered the most as the OPD’s remained closed as a result of the strike. PIMS spokesman Zulfiqar Ghori told Pakistan Today that efforts were being made to overcome the patients’ plight but the hospital administration was powerless in the absence of the staff. He said despite the government’s assurance to accept the protestors’ demands, the staff refused to call off the strike.
