CENTRE FOR LIVER DISEASES AND LIVER TRANSPLANT, PIMS: I, along with two other doctors, have been working as house officers (BPS-17) at the Centre for Liver Diseases and Liver Transplant, PIMS, Islamabad since May 24 2011.
The PIMS administration had promised us that it would change the nomenclature of the designation we were posted to from house officer to medical officer (BPS-17) as the qualification requirements for both the posts were identical and we fulfilled the criteria. It would be pertinent to mention that appointment letters issued to us defined the terms and conditions of the medical officer post, but the remuneration given to us was that meant for a house officer.
On February 3, 2012, the post of house officer, instead of being converted into that of medical officer, was abolished. This abolition was unlawful as we were appointed on a one-year contract.
Nevertheless, the administration assured us that our abolished house officer post will soon be converted into the medical officer post. However, only one house officer amongst us, who hails from Punjab, was appointed medical officer through a fresh appointment, while the administration has turned a blind eye towards the cases of the remaining doctors, who are from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
As a result of the abolition of our posts, we are not getting salaries because our current status is unclear. I appeal to the relevant authorities, as well as the prime minister and the president, that a fresh notification appointing us as medical officers be issued as soon as possible.
Dr Saifur Rehman
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2012.
