Health personnel pay scale: As ordinance lapses, doctors divided over course of action

The bill was presented in the National Assembly on January 13 and is yet to be passed.

ISLAMABAD:

As one strike ended, the groundwork for another was laid. A notification issued by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said the Career Structure for Health Personnel (CSHP) 2011 has lapsed, and with it the Health Personnel Pay Scale (HPS) has lost its legal status.

Therefore, until the implementation of the HPS Bill 2012, which was presented in the National Assembly on January 13, health professionals who adopted HPS will be paid under the Basic Pay Scale (BPS-1 to 22).

The presidential ordinance, CSHP 2011, was issued in August 2011 to address doctors’ and paramedical staff’s concerns over their service structure, regularisation of contracts and salaries. The ordinance came into force retroactively from July 2011.

However in December 2011, the ordinance lapsed and was presented in the National Assembly in the form of a bill, which has not yet been passed. The notification has divided health professionals at Polyclinic Hospital and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). During a press conference at Polyclinic on Tuesday, the hospital’s Young Doctors Association (YDA) members and paramedical staff decided to stage a protest on Thursday against the notification.

Meanwhile, YDA members and paramedics at Pims have accepted the notification after considering the legal issues it identifies. They will not protest, but have demanded that the government pass and implement the HPS Bill 2012 at the earliest.

Health professionals that adopted HPS have not received a single paycheque under the new structure. They are still receiving salaries under BPS, for which they blamed the Capital Administration and Development Division.

Polyclinic YDA President Dr Muhammad Ajmal called the decision “a clear violation of our rights” and termed the notification “illegal”, while opposing the decision to shift health professionals back to BPS. “On Thursday we will stage a protest and a sit-in to press the government to take back its decision,” he said.

On the other hand, Pims YDA Chairperson Dr Asfandyar Khan said, “The decision taken by the Finance Ministry is correct; however we want to remind the president and the prime minister about the HPS Bill 2012, which needs to be passed and implemented as soon as possible.”

Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood was not available for a comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2012.