Lahore: Medical stores went on a partial shutdown strike as part of the one-month strike call given by Pakistan Chemists and Retailers Association (PCRA).
The PCRA gave a call of a shutter-down strike starting with effect from May 25 to June 25, 2017, but many medical stores were divided upon this issue. The strike will be observed mainly against what PCRA calls the “black laws against chemists”.
Some medical stores kept some of their branches open while shutting down others. For example, the medical stores in front of Lahore General Hospital remained closed on Thursday but they remained open in front of other hospitals in the City.
Patients faced a lot of difficulty due to the unavailability of medicines. Lohari Medicine Market, however, carried on with their business, ignoring the calls for a strike.
PCRA Chairman Ishaq Mayo has asked the government to withdraw the Drugs Act (Amendment) 2017, which according to him is a way of victimising and harassing the medical store businesses.
He has also demanded that a better way of dealing with this issue is to have discussions with chemists, druggists, wholesalers and retailers over Drugs Act (Amendment) 2017.
He says that the strike will continue until the demands of PCRA are met.
