KARACHI: Sindh Doctor’s Joint Action Committee on Thursday gave a five-day ultimatum to Sindh government to accept the demands of medical practitioners, otherwise, a complete strike would be observed across the province.
Addressing a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club, the representatives of Sindh Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Sindh Doctors Ittehad, Functional Doctors Forum and Young Doctors Association, Sindh, said that the provincial government had failed to implement the apex court’s orders about doctors’ promotions. They said it was reluctant to give service structure and time-scale promotions, raise of salaries and allowance on the pattern of three other provinces.
Central leader of Doctor’s Joint Action Committee Dr Muhammad Usman Maako said that the doctors observed hunger strike outside Karachi Press Club for the promotion of doctors and held a protest demonstration in different cities of Sindh province from February 14, 2018. He added that unfortunately, the Sindh government and health department officials showed apathy toward doctors’ demands.
Another leader of Doctors Action Committee Dr Omer Sultan said that house officers and postgraduate (PGs) doctors were underpaid in Sindh as compared to Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan’s doctors. He added that doctors of Sindh have decided to go on protest as the authorities concerned of Sindh health department was not interested to resolve problems being faced by them.
They demanded of the Sindh government to immediately promote the doctors in next grades, give them service structure and time-scale promotions, increase salaries and allowance of young doctors, regularise the contract doctors and provide deputation facility to medical practitioners of the province.