Breakthrough: JPMC staff agree to end strike, resume duties
Petitioners likely to withdraw case challenging jurisdiction of Sindh govt over facility
More than 20,000 patients suffered as a result of the JPMC staff strike. The hospital was forced to turn away injured people because there was no one to treat them. PHOTO: ONLINE
KARACHI:
The protesting employees of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) finally gave in to the administration and called off their strike that had been ongoing for four consecutive days. According to estimates, around 20,000 patients were affected by the strike.
The negotiations between the employees' Joint Action Committee and the JPMC administration, chaired by provincial health secretary Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo, on Thursday concluded that paramedics will withdraw the strike call and their issues will be resolved if they withdrew the case or the court decided it either way.
"The employees have agreed with the administration's point of view," said Dr Javed Jamali, the JPMC spokesperson. "It is a legal and technical issue," he said, adding that all the protesting employees have resumed their duties.
"We had no other option but to withdraw," said Abdul Rauf, the general secretary of the Young Nurses Association. He said that neither will the applicants withdraw the case nor will the employees be given any benefits even in the next 10 years. "We will suffer in the tussle of the doctors and the administration," he lamented, adding that the majority of the employees were unhappy with the decision.
Meanwhile, thousands of patients suffered due to the strike during the last four days. "Is this a hospital?" questioned a patient's attendant, Mohammad Riaz. He complained that no one was attending to the patients.
The administration admitted that the entire system of the hospital was disturbed since Monday.
The issue
Despite the legislation passed by the Sindh Assembly to hand over administration of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to the province, the provincial government is unsure if the institution is within their jurisdiction.
This was revealed during a meeting at the CM House on Wednesday. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister directed officials of the health department to resolve the matter and ensure that the provision of health facilities to the public was not disrupted. "We have passed the law, but at present the matter on the question of the controlling authority is pending in court. How can we decide the future of the institution or its employees?" he questioned, directing the provincial health department, advocate-general and private consuls to get the court verdict on the petition filed by employees of the JPMC against the devolution of the institution to the Sindh government. "The JPMC is a big public hospital. Whether it lies within our domain or not, I want to resolve this issue," he said.
Shah added that it was ironic that on the one hand, the doctors and paramedical staff had challenged the authority of the Sindh government in court while on the other, they were demanding perks and privileges from the Sindh government.
Expressing his satisfaction over the assurance given by JPMC director, Dr Anis Bhatti, that the petitioners had agreed to withdraw their case, the CM asked them to submit their consent with an affidavit in court so that the matter could be decided at the earliest.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2015.
The protesting employees of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) finally gave in to the administration and called off their strike that had been ongoing for four consecutive days. According to estimates, around 20,000 patients were affected by the strike.
The negotiations between the employees' Joint Action Committee and the JPMC administration, chaired by provincial health secretary Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo, on Thursday concluded that paramedics will withdraw the strike call and their issues will be resolved if they withdrew the case or the court decided it either way.
"The employees have agreed with the administration's point of view," said Dr Javed Jamali, the JPMC spokesperson. "It is a legal and technical issue," he said, adding that all the protesting employees have resumed their duties.
"We had no other option but to withdraw," said Abdul Rauf, the general secretary of the Young Nurses Association. He said that neither will the applicants withdraw the case nor will the employees be given any benefits even in the next 10 years. "We will suffer in the tussle of the doctors and the administration," he lamented, adding that the majority of the employees were unhappy with the decision.
Meanwhile, thousands of patients suffered due to the strike during the last four days. "Is this a hospital?" questioned a patient's attendant, Mohammad Riaz. He complained that no one was attending to the patients.
The administration admitted that the entire system of the hospital was disturbed since Monday.
The issue
Despite the legislation passed by the Sindh Assembly to hand over administration of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to the province, the provincial government is unsure if the institution is within their jurisdiction.
This was revealed during a meeting at the CM House on Wednesday. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister directed officials of the health department to resolve the matter and ensure that the provision of health facilities to the public was not disrupted. "We have passed the law, but at present the matter on the question of the controlling authority is pending in court. How can we decide the future of the institution or its employees?" he questioned, directing the provincial health department, advocate-general and private consuls to get the court verdict on the petition filed by employees of the JPMC against the devolution of the institution to the Sindh government. "The JPMC is a big public hospital. Whether it lies within our domain or not, I want to resolve this issue," he said.
Shah added that it was ironic that on the one hand, the doctors and paramedical staff had challenged the authority of the Sindh government in court while on the other, they were demanding perks and privileges from the Sindh government.
Expressing his satisfaction over the assurance given by JPMC director, Dr Anis Bhatti, that the petitioners had agreed to withdraw their case, the CM asked them to submit their consent with an affidavit in court so that the matter could be decided at the earliest.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2015.