PIMS employees call of strike till Aug 26

CADD minister’s assurances soften stance of protestors

Islamabad

The employees of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) called off their strike Tuesday, albeit till August 26 only, after the government’s assurance that their interests, including separation of PIMS from Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU), would be safeguarded in any future dispensation in PIMS.

“A majority of your demands will be addressed in the proposed legislation to be tabled in the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Cabinet, which will meet on August 26,” Dr. Tariq assured the protesters during his visit to PIMS on the second day of the strike.

Confirming the postponement of the strike, the chairman of PIMS Restoration Movement Dr. Asfandyar Khan said, “The minister has assured that the amendment bill will be cleared in the Standing Committee meeting on August 26, and will be tabled in the National Assembly session starting on September 2. In view of his persuasion, PRM has agreed to postpone the protest till August 26. However, if the Standing Committee does not clear the bill, we will resume the protest indefinitely till passage of legislation by the National Assembly, and issuance of an official notification for separation of PIMS from SZABMU.”

“There is a communication gap between PIMS employees and the hospital’s management as the government is already working on the lines being demanded by the employees in their protests. The management of SZABMU and PIMS will be separated for efficient management of the two organisations. The university will stay autonomous and the previous status of PIMS will be restored under a separate administration as a legislative proposal to this effect is already in its advanced stage for presentation to the Standing Committee,” Dr. Tariq stated. He assured the employees of PIMS they would continue to enjoy the status of civil servants, and will be entitled to all benefits received by other regular civil servants.

Dr. Tariq urged that the sectors of health and education be kept above all kinds of materialistic politics. “Improving the performance of PIMS and the medical university is a personal target of the Prime Minister, who has released discretionary funds to turn PIMS into a model hospital,” he stated.

The second day of the strike saw representatives of doctors, nurses and paramedics from Polyclinic, CDA Hospital, Federal Hospital, and NIRM joining the protest. Assuring maximum support to PIMS employees, they announced that if their demands were not fulfilled, they would suspend services in their hospitals too. The protestors said they have all sympathies for poor patients. “Our struggle is aimed at continuation of free and quality health care services for poor segments of the society. With the conversion of PIMS to an autonomous university, these services are gradually being shifted from the public to the private sector in the shape of heavy fees, which the poor can ill afford to pay,” they stated.  The protestors thanked the minister for acceding to their demands.