Movement for separation of PIMS from SZABMU gains steam, yet again

Islamabad
After a considerably extended hiatus, slogans are once again being raised for separation of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU). Following a 10-day peaceful protest that commenced on August 2, employees of the hospital forced closure of the Out-Patient Department of PIMS on the second consecutive day here Wednesday in pursuance of the fulfillment of their demand.
Earlier, on the first day of their token strike on August 11, the protesters organised a rally within the hospital premises before entering the office of the Vice Chancellor of SZABMU, where they raised slogans, and tabled their demands in writing so that the same could be passed on to the President and the Prime Minister.
The protest call has been given by the PIMS Non-Gazetted Employees Association, the PIMS Officers Welfare Association, and the PIMS Nursing Association. The protesters are demanding restoration of PIMS as a separate entity, and as such, have named their struggle ‘PIMS Restoration Movement.’ They are convinced that PIMS, being a public hospital, cannot be converted into a university, and as such, SZABMU should be separated from PIMS altogether. They are also demanding lifting of the freeze on risk allowance.
Sharif Khattak, president of the PIMS Nursing Association, was asked to explain the rationale of the protest, given that the federal government had, through a notification issued back on February 17, 2014, granted the employees of PIMS with the option to retain their civil servant status as per the 1973 Civil Servants Act.
“The PPP government had passed the bill in haste, and without carrying out an in-depth study. Nowhere in the world is a hospital converted into a university; on the contrary; it is medical colleges that are upgraded as such. Converting PIMS into an autonomous body will lead to an increase in the cost of health services as the university will need to generate its own revenue. Moreover, we too will become employees of a private university, which is not acceptable to us,” Khattak stated.
The protesters are of the view that the Civil Servant Rights Act 1973 of PIMS employees “will be damaged” under the SZABMU Act 2013. “All provinces will lose their allocated quota seats through FPSC at PIMS. Moreover, PIMS is already an attached hospital of the Federal Medical and Dental College,” Khattak said. In their letter addressed to the VC, the protesters have expressed “painstaking reservations” on the SZABMU Act 2013.
Responding to another query, Khattak added that 99.9% of the employees of PIMS opted in favour of working for the hospital, rather than the university, and yet a notification was issued, without any value being given to the referendum. “Only 25 out of 4,000 employees opted for SZABMU, their majority being those who were about to retire and were eyeing a five-year extension,” he alleged.
A source in the Law and Justice Division said that PIMS was converted into a teaching hospital in 2004, and on the basis of that, was given the status of a medical university, that too through an Act of the Parliament. A copy of the notification shows that, the Prime Minister, through a notification, awarded the status of a teaching hospital to PIMS in 2004. On the basis of its teaching status, the Parliament considered giving the status of a medical university to PIMS. The official said PIMS is now a constituent hospital of SZABMU on the lines of Sindh Jinnah Medical University, where Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and National Institute of Child Health both are its constituent hospitals as per the pre-requisites of PM&DC. On the same pattern, the PM declared Federal Medical and Dental College as constituent college of SZABMU.
The protestors, on the other hand, believe that being a gift from the government of Japan to the poor people of Pakistan, PIMS need to continue to serve ailing humanity at nominal charges or totally free of cost.
It is worth noting that the government has recently imposed a freeze on the allowances of all federal government employees. It is not just PIMS employees who are facing this issue.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the VC, along with key administrative staff, opened the OPDs and monitored all matters under his personal supervision.