Back to square one: FPSC rejects summary of doctors’ wage hikes

Deems new structure illegal, summary now with CADD; YDA still on strike.

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) returned the summary of new Career Structure of Health Personnel (CSHP) to Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) on Friday citing legal complications, The Express Tribune learnt from sources on authority.

In May, health ministry had notified the new career structure for those serving in the government institutions and related organisations that comes under the federal government. The new career structure is based on performance delinking health professionals from the basic pay scale (BPS) structure. The BPS structure (BPS 1 to 22) currently applicable on all federal employees will be replaced by the Health Personnel Pay Scales (HPS 1 to 13).

The summary of the new career structure was approved by the Establishment Division, which was later moved to Ministry of Finance which approved around Rs2 billion for this. It was then moved to the Ministry of Law, which approved and sent it to the FPSC for final endorsement and implementation.

According to sources, the FPSC has said that this new structure delinks the civil servant rules. If implemented, all government officials from grades 1 to 21 will lose most of their rights as civil servants.

There are chances that this new structure will be sent to the prime minister again for new amendments, which will take time. There are also chances that CHSP will be introduced as an ordinance.

Meanwhile the Young Doctors Association (YDA) strike at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) began its 25th day.

YDA locked up all the outpatient departments, administration departments, laboratories, X-ray department, stores, and the finance department for two days (Wednesday and Thursday) in an effort to make the hospital administration and government cave in to their demands.

However, while patients at the hospital suffered through the enforced ordeal, the effort had no impact on the administration or the government, as their demands remain unfulfilled.

Though it is expected that the return of CSHP to CADD will further delay progress on meeting the demands, YDA Pims President Dr Sajid Abbasi said that, “We will continue our strike till we will get a copy of the final notification in our hands.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2011.