Young doctors demand release of salaries

PESHAWAR: The young doctors on Tuesday demanded the release of salaries withheld for the last five months and threatened to launch a protest campaign if the demand was not met.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, President, Young Doctors Association (YDA), Southern districts, Faisal Barakzai said the Health Department had not released salaries of 600 young doctors.

Around 800 young doctors were performing duty at various hospitals across the province, he said, adding salaries were being paid to 200 doctors and the remaining doctors were not paid a single penny.

Faisal said the Health Department had not issued the notification to the Finance Department for the release of the salaries.

Flanked by the provincial general secretary of YDA Asfandyar Khattak, he said that these doctors were also not registered with College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP).

Faisal said it was mandatory to register the young doctors in the first six months at the CPSP, a college which oversees the postgraduate medical education and professional development, or else they would have to start the specialisation right from the start. “Our six months would go waste if the registration is not done in a month,” he added.