Regular employees of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have expressed serious reservations over the allocation of high allowances for senior staff.
High grade officials will now be entitled to higher Health Risk Allowance (HRA) in the newly approved Career Structure for Health Personnel (CSHP), as compared to lower staff who claimed that they are the ones who are exposed to more risk while directly handling patients.
Similarly “unfavourable” changes in the Health Personnel Pay Scales (HPS-I to 13) have also added to their grievances.
Regular employees who include nurses, doctors and paramedics among others have also expressed grave concern over giving “non-practice allowance” to grade 20-21 officials. These officials, it was claimed, are serving on high administrative positions and, according to the policy and their job description, are not entitled to it.
In this regard, a few days back, the “agitated” staff wrote a letter to the Ministry of Health highlighting these points and expressing their worries but received no response.
While rejecting HPS, they said it has added more perks and privileges for high officials who are already enjoying a “luxurious” lifestyle and ignores others who also serve around the clock.
They demanded that HRA be equivalent to Running Basic Pay as admissible in different departments like police, Central Board of Revenue and judiciary, among others.
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official of Pims said, “Risk allowance has been granted to high ranking officials without any justification.”
He said according to HPS 2010-11, officials from grade-1 to grade-17 are being allocated merely Rs2000 to Rs7000.
“Life of majority of the officials in these grades is more at risk as they are exposed to dangerous rays and communicable diseases,” he said.
However, a high official who sits in an airconditioned office is being given health risk allowance starting from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000, he added.
The officials on grade 20-21 are not allowed to get non-practice allowance as according to their job description their duty hours are round the clock.
According to the new service structure under HSP, the grade-20 official is being allocated Rs40,000 and grade-21, Rs80,000.
These officials also want the Ministry of Health to clarify the newly approved service structure and clauses such as “no compensation to be entitled on transfer from BPS to HPS”.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2011.
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