Pressing for demands: Scraping by on meagre salary

Paramedics seek risk allowance, pay raise.

ISLAMABAD:

The medical and nonmedical staff of federal hospitals demanded on Tuesday risk allowance and raise in salaries proportionate to the inflation rate.

This demand was made by the heads of associations of nurses, paramedic and non-gazetted staff of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic Hospital and National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Workers Convention organised by the Joint Action Committee of Pims in connection with the World Labour Day.

The Standing Committee on Health Chairperson Dr Nadeem Ehsan was the chief guest on the occasion.

The staff demanded risk allowance that is already being given to law enforcement agencies. They said emergency situations, such as bomb blasts, posed a threat to the lives of the ambulance drivers and paramedics, who collect corpses.

Moreover, the ever-increasing inflation is compounding their problems, making it harder for them to run their households on the limited budget, they added.

Speaking on the occasion, the Joint Action Committee of All Non-Medical Health Employees Association (ANHEMA) spokesperson, Manzar Abbas Naqvi said Pims, at the time of its establishment, was an autonomous body and after a struggle of months by the workers of the institute it was brought under the federal government.

He added that the struggle was carried in the backdrop of a decision of the administration in which 40 workers were dismissed.

“A conspiracy has been hatched to make Pims an autonomous body but they would let anyone to deprive the workers of their rights,” he added.

He said hundreds of workers of Pims were still working in the same grade in which they had been inducted some 20 years ago.

Sardar Muhammad Shakeel, member ANHEMA, said. “I was inducted in grade 1 and am still working in the same grade, even after 25 years of service.”

He added that workers of Pims played a pivotal role during emergencies like the Ojari Camp bombing, Lal Masjid operation, Air Blue crash in Margalla Hills but unfortunately they lacked all those incentives which are been given to judiciary, army and police.

He further said that technical education related paramedical profession was made mandatory in the new service structure for the promotion of paramedics.

However, he said the condition would only serve 30 per cent of the staff, depriving the remaining 70 per cent.

They demanded Dr Ehsan to lend his support in opposing the government’s plan of making the federal hospitals autonomous. He replied by stating that he will raise the issue in the senate session.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2011.