Strike called off: Government accepts doctors' demands

Wahab says Sindh doctors will now be given same allowances as Punjab, K-P

HYDERABAD: After the Sindh government relented to the demands of doctors for bringing their salaries and allowance at par with their counterparts in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) called off its boycott of out-patient departments (OPDs).

The two sides reached an agreement on the third day of the province-wide boycott after the first round of negotiations between health secretary and the PMA had failed a day earlier.

"The Sindh government has agreed that they will provide us equal salaries and allowances, which the doctors in Punjab and K-P are being paid," PMA Sindh General Secretary Dr Pir Manzoor Ali told The Express Tribune. According to Ali, the government will also promote 2,000 to 2,500 doctors in the upper grades in BS-18 to BS-20.

Earlier in the day, he informed that their talks with health secretary Saeed Aiwan failed because the latter, although agreed to enhance the pay and allowances, refused to ensure that they were equal to Punjab.

Doctors in Sindh go on strike demanding pay raise

The PMA even requested the opposition parties to join their protest, accusing the Sindh government of showing indifference to the suffering of the patients who are being denied health services at the OPDs.

Under the earlier formula, the provincial government had given consent to augment professional allowance of BS-18 specialists up to Rs60,000, BS-19 and BS-20 specialists up to Rs90,000, general cadre and dental surgeons of BS-17 and BS-18 up to Rs50,000 and BS-19 and BS-20 up to Rs75,000.

Ali said that though their demands for salary, allowance and promotions have been accepted, the PMA will keep pursuing the case against handing over government hospitals to the non-governmental organisations.

Wahab presser

Addressing a joint press conference in Karachi with representatives of doctors, Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information, Law & Anti-Corruption Barrister Murtaza Wahab also announced that doctors will end their strike following successful negotiations.

Talking to the media at Sindh Assembly, Wahab said that the health department has agreed to the genuine and bona fide demands of protesting doctors.

Sindh government agrees to doctors’ demands

The OPDs of all government hospitals, which the doctors had boycotted, will start functioning from Wednesday evening. Wahab added that Sindh doctors will now be given same allowances as being given in Punjab and K-P.

The Information adviser said that the top priority of the government was to provide as much relief as possible to the patients. He said that Sindh government had established state-of-the-art health institutions in the province like the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences that were providing world class health services to poor people across the province.

Wahab concluded the press conference saying that health professionals came under essential services and they have already discussed with doctors' representatives to devise a mechanism so as to avoid strikes in future. He said that doctors have agreed to voluntarily serve 14 hours instead of 12, which was a commendable gesture.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2019.