DHO suspends vaccinations over non-payment of allowance
While citizens crowd govt vaccination centres, managements of around 20 entities hoping to open private vaccination centres say the Sindh govt has thus far only permitted three private hospitals to do so. PHOTO: AFP
The issue of non-payment of Covid-19 health risk allowance to the staff of federal government hospitals has taken a serious turn as the workers of the district health office (DHO) have stopped vaccination in all centres.
The vaccination process has been stopped in all vaccination centres run by the district health administration (DHA). The DHO staff also presented a charter of demands in which they demanded the immediate sacking of Ministry of Health Joint Secretary Sajjad Yaldram.
They also called for the regularisation of all contractual employees.
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The staffers said they would continue the strike until approval of the charter.
They maintained that they are providing round the clock testing and monitoring services since the first wave of the pandemic, adding that the health ministry wants to deprive them of the risk allowance, contending that the health workers in all provinces have received it and refused to work further until disbursement of the allowance.
On the other hand, the health workers of the federal government hospitals continued their boycott of outpatient departments OPD and vaccination for the third consecutive day.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2021.