Staff at PIMS cardiac unit suspend work for two hours

Protest against non-payment of salaries and non regularisation of service

ISLAMABAD: Nine surgeons, physicians, and technicians who work for the critical cardiac care unit of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) halted their work for two hours on Tuesday in protest against the non-payment of dues for over 23 months and non-regularisation of services.

The aggrieved health experts have been working without salaries since June 30, 2015 when their contracts expired.

The employees stopped operations and critical care  for two hours but later resumed their duties on humanitarian grounds as any delay in operations and cardiac care can be fatal for the patients.

According to them around 40 bypass operations and stent procedures are held in the center in a month.

The cardiac center had hired about 37 employees of different cadres when it started operations some 12 years ago.  Later some employees left due to ineffective response of the government.  In 2016 the regularisation committee of government regularised the services of some 22 employees of grade 15 and below but the 9 employees of higher grade were not regularized nor their contracts renewed.

“We can suspend our work at any time but we have been continuing on humanitarian grounds as many heart patients are on waiting list for operations and cardiac procedures and critical care”, said a doctor wishing not to be named.

The employees have appealed to Islamabad High Court to hear their case on priority basis so that their long pending issues are resolved.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2017.