Health personnel of the Federal Capital staged a protest rally on Tuesday morning after the health allowance (risk allowance) was stopped.
Employees from Poly Clinic Hospital, PIMS, CDA and NIH went on strike and walked towards the Prime Minister House against government orders. They were protesting the revision of basic pay scales and allowances meant for civil servants of the federal government.
They demanded that the health allowance, which is equal to one basic pay of the running salary, be grated in the health personal in BPS scheme. In 2012, government decided to grant the benefit of one basic pay of running salary as Health Allowance to the health personnel employed in the Federal Government in the BPS scheme, with effect from January1 , 2012. The order said that it will be added to their existing allowances under the BPS Scheme.
However, the recent government ordered that the basic pay scales be revised, and allowances be looked at again. It said that the Special Allowances or the allowances admissible as percentage of pay (excluding those which are capped by fixing maximum limit) including House Rent Allowance and the Allowance/Special allowance equal to one month basic pay, granted to Federal Government employees irrespective of his/her posting in ministry/division /department /office etc. including employees in BPS 1-22 of judiciary shall stand frozen at the level of its admissibility as on June 30, 2015.
A representative from the protestors, Sadia, told Pakistan Today that the health personnel work in a high risk environment and they must be allowed to enjoy this allowance. Another protesters, PIMS Nurses Association President, Juliana, said that the previous government granted one month basic salary allowances as health allowance but this government has seized it. She demanded the government to address their issues.
The protesters met Islamabad Deputy Commissioner, Capt (R) Mushtaq Ahmad, he assured the protesters that he would arrange a meeting with Deputy Secretary Finance and the protesters dispersed. DC Mushtaq Ahmad said that we had dialogue with the protesters and assured them that their issues would be addressed through the concerned department, they agreed and will met the deputy secretary finance tomorrow.
