Sindh’s paramedical organisations on Monday staged a protest demonstration and sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club for acceptance of their demands and gave a one-week time to provincial government to fulfil their genuine demands.
The representatives of paramedical organisations under the banner of Paramedical Staff Joint Action Committee Sindh were carrying placards and banners inscribed with different slogans like provide justice to paramedics, implement son quota and service structure and stop injustices with them. A large number of paramedical staff from different cities of Sindh including Hyderabad and Sukkur participated in the protest demonstration.
The protesters were led by Ikhlaq Ahmed Khan, Mumtaz Jatoi, Abdul Latif Otho, Syed Amir Hussain Shah, Yousuf Khan, Liaquat Mastoi, Haq Nawaz Sial, Ismail Jaskani and Tariq Mangi.
All Pakistan Lady Health Workers Employees Association Sindh Chairperson Khair-un-Nisa and General Secretary Sindh Doctors Welfare Association (SDWA) Dr Nawaz Ali Mallah also participated in sit-in to show solidarity with them.
The speakers while addressing the media persons said that service structure of paramedics had been approved in 2005 but few categories were left out and notification of those categories could not be issued yet. They said health allowance had been given to paramedical staff of federal and other provinces, but unfortunately Sindh’s paramedics still remained deprived of it.
They said the provincial government was also not implementing son quota in the province as 700 files have been pending in this regard. They said implementing son quota was the responsibility of Sindh government. They said paramedics had been compelled to stage protest demonstration and sit-in in order to convey their message to provisional authorities.
They also demanded health allowance, high-risk allowance and rural incentive allowance for the paramedics of Sindh on the pattern of the federal and provincial governments.
They gave a one week time to provincial government to fulfil their demands, otherwise they would boycott OPD throughout the Sindh province from 25 August 2014.
The office-bearers of the Sindh Paramedical Staff Welfare Association (SPSWA), Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association (PPMSA) Mumtaz Jatoi Group, All Sindh Peoples Paramedical Staff Welfare Association and Functional League Paramedical participated in the sit-in