Irked nurses protest against health department

Demanding to be issued offer letters, a number of nurses protested against the health department a year after they cleared the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) exam and a succeeding interview.

The protest was staged outside the Sindh Secretariat on Monday.

The nurses were to be placed on jobs at public hospitals in the province after they were declared successful candidates.

Around 1,800 nursing candidates, both male and female had cleared the written Sindh Public Service Commission’s (SPSC) test in 2016, while 477 of them were declared successful by the SPSC in interviews.

The Sindh government was recommended to issue the nurses offer letters but none were issued till date. The nurses said they had been waiting for the authorities to provide them the recommended jobs but it seemed as if the department was not serious about the matter.

“Today we decided to hold a protest outside the office of the Sindh secretary health because he is the ultimate authority who can resolve our issue,” said a female candidate.

Following the protest Sindh Secretary Health Dr Fazlullah Pechuho assured the nurses of being issued offer letters within a few days as per the law department’s advice. He said he was aware of the nursing candidates’ sufferings but due to legal problems their recruitment got delayed.

The nurses called off their protest for the time but vowed to stage a sit-in and resort to other means of protests if their issue was not resolved within the promised time.

Nurses have since the start of the year been staging protests on issues as varying as promotions, better working conditions, allowances and recruitment besides several other problems.