YDA to stage protest in BBH on 12th

Rawalpindi
The Young Doctors Association, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, has announced to hold a protest at the BBH on Thursday (February 12) as part of a protest series launched by YDA Punjab in December 2014.
The YDA Punjab launched the series of protests alleging that the Punjab government did not fulfil the demands of the YDA as was promised by it after a months-long strike by the YDA in 2012.
On February 12, the YDA at BBH would hold a seminar to tell doctors why it has decided to stage a protest. As part of the protest, the young doctors would go on strike at the outpatients department of the hospital for two hours, said Information Secretary of YDA BBH Dr Muhammad Waqas Ilyas while talking to 'The News' on Sunday.
He said the YDA has decided to put agenda of its demands before its community on February 12. Initially the YDA would hold only token strikes in the hospitals and if the Punjab government does not do anything to implement demands of young doctors, the YDA would plan a new strategy in a month or so, he added.
The YDA demands from the Punjab government include increase in paid postgraduate trainees slots alleging that around 850 trainee doctors are doing unpaid specialisation training all over the province.
The YDA demands the Punjab government to implement promotions and service structure as was approved by it in November 2012. Over 3,300 doctors are waiting for the time scale promotions as per rules, said Dr. Waqas. He added that a number of points agreed upon by the YDA and the Punjab government in 2012 are not implemented as yet.
The YDA is also demanding the government to induct doctors in grade-18 by implementing revision of pay scales of doctors. The Punjab government should increase salaries of Medical Officers, Post-Graduate trainees and House Officers as was promised by it in 2012, said Dr. Waqas. He added that the salary of house officers is constant for the last three years.
He said the YDA demands the government to resolve the promotions and other issues of the doctors in dental cadre.
The YDA also demands the Punjab government to affiliate Post-Graduate Medical Institute Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore with the University of Health Sciences. The YDA also demands paid house job for medical graduates of private institutions and foreign countries.
Graduates from private institutions and foreign countries are forced to do unpaid house job while paid seats for house job are vacant thro-
ughout the provinces and they should be allowed to work on available paid seats, said Dr. Waqas.