After a strong protest by the doctors and paramedics of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) on Thursday morning, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) issued the staff’s salaries cheques worth Rs 162 million to the heads of the two institutions, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Boycotting routine work except outdoor patient departments, hundreds of hospital staffers, including doctors, paramedics and lower staff members, staged a protest on the main road leading to the hospitals, suspending vehicular traffic for several hours.
Well-placed sources told Pakistan Today that as the protesters refused to end their protest, KMC Municipal Commissioner Matanat Ali Khan reached the scene and handed over the salaries’ cheques to the heads of these institutions.
“Khan handed over two cheques – under the head of salaries for employees – of Rs 8.8 million and Rs 7.4 million to ASH Medical Superintendent Dr Nadeem Rajput and the KIHDs’ accounts officer, respectively,” they said.
The sources said a summary regarding the regularisation of the employees was also forwarded to the Sindh government for further process.
Earlier, the KMC municipal commissioner also talked with the protesting employees of both hospitals at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the Water pump Chowrangi.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that a total of 1,374 employees were appointed in the medical department and various hospitals and dispensaries of KMC, who were being paid Rs 18.4million on the account of salaries each month.
On the assurance of Khan for payment of their two months salaries and dispatch of the summary to the Sindh government for getting permanent jobs, the protesting employees ended their protest and the traffic on the important corridors was restored.
