JPMC, NICH young doctors likely to go on strike within a week

YDA president says decision taken because authorities failed to
fulfil their demands five months after initial protests 

Karachi

Five months since the first strike, young doctors at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) are most likely to observe another boycott within a week, after authorities failed to deliver on promises of releasing overdue salaries and also bringing them at par with salaries being paid in Punjab.

The announcement to this effect was made by president of the Young Doctors Association (YDA), Samiullah Gill.

The president expressing displeasure of the provincial government’s lacklustre response said secretary health, Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo, had in January assured the protesting doctors that their demands would be met and that a file with this regard had been sent to the chief minister.

The Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) young doctors demanded an increase in salaries of postgraduate trainees, currently being Rs42,500 per month against Rs75,000 being drawn by doctors in Punjab, as well as house officers, getting Rs24,000 as compared to Rs38,000 in both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gill added.

Owing to the institute being an autonomous body, president YDA stated that postgraduate trainees at the National Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases (NICVD) were getting Rs75,000 per month, although the chairman of board of governors of the institute was the CM.

Except for the Emergency, young doctors at JPMC and NICH had for days boycotted OPDs, elective surgeries, medical examinations and other health services in January, till the provincial health authorities got compelled to speak to them.

Mangnejo had assured the matter had been forwarded to the CM and that their demands would ‘hopefully’ be fulfilled within a week.

“The new health secretary is not willing to meet us. Nobody is talking to us,” stated an annoyed Gill, adding, that young house officers had been without their salaries for five months now while PTs were working on salaries quite less than their colleagues at NICVD and health facilities in Punjab and KPK. “This can’t go on anymore now.” 

Gill said he had been receiving hundreds of calls and messages from the young doctors asking whether they were finally getting an increase this month or not. “But I don’t know what to say to them.”

The doctors were so angered that most of them were calling to observe a strike till their salaries were deposited in their bank accounts, he added.

Despite several attempts to reach out to both the health secretary and minister, none had responded back, the presided stated, adding, that now the doctors would not meet any of them once the strike commences.

Commenting on the YDAs plan of action, JPMC’s deputy director Dr Javed Jamali observed that the demands were justified but the issue was with the health department and the JPMC administration could not do much to resolve it.

He added that issue of meagre salaries of the PTs and HOs was not only the JPMCs but was being faced by young doctors throughout the province.

“Unless the demand for increase in salaries comes unanimously from doctors of the entire province would the issue be resolved," Dr Jamali remarked. Sindh health secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Narejo could not be reached out despite several calls and messages to have his comment over the matter.