Last month, the city of Lahore came to a virtual halt due to nine different protests held across the city in one day. It may have been a coincidence but the way these protests were timed and placed was such that all detours were blocked.

The biggest culprits, according to the district administration and police, were the young doctors, who blocked roads at five different locations of the city. Paramedics and other hospital staff supported them.

The protests were called off after hours of negotiations between the representatives of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) and the Punjab government. The demand of the enraged doctors included increase in salaries and a proper job structure. They also demands the government reverts the 15 per cent cut in health budget and restore regular supply of essential drugs at hospitals.

It is feared that worst is yet to come, as the YDA has called for a province-wide protest and a sit-in outside the chief minister’s secretariat or Punjab Assembly or some other equally important location. As per the declared plans, doctors will march towards Lahore from different cities of the province and hold a sit-in on May 11, which may continue till the fulfillment of their demands.

Dr Khurram Shahzad, YDA spokesman, says their demand for raise in salary was accepted back in 2011 when the government’s representative Ishaq Dar assured them that their salaries would be increased in three stages. "The salary for medical officers (MOs) was increased by Rs15,000 in 2011 but the remaining increments, worth similar amounts, have not been announced yet."

Dr Shahzad adds the salary of an MO is presently Rs58,000 in Punjab. "We demand the government increase it up to Rs90,000 at least."

He justifies this demand; saying an MO is highly educated with on-job experience of at least 20 years. Precisely for this reason, "the YDA wants the government to induct MOs in Grade 18 instead of Grade 17. If a PhD can be inducted in Grade 18, then why can’t a medical doctor, who has spent more years in education? In Punjab both staff nurses and MOs are inducted in Grade 17".

The YDA spokesman further says that the salary of an MO in KP is between Rs85,000 and Rs1,50,000, depending on seniority, but, in Punjab, "it starts from Rs58,000 and ends there," he says continuing that the YDA has also demanded the government bring the doctors’ salary at par with judges of the lower courts.

House officers in Punjab draw only Rs31,000 as salary; "a large number of fresh doctors are not even getting that," Dr Shahzad iterates. "This creates immense problems for them as the cost of living is too high nowadays. We have to work beyond the stipulated 80 to 100 hours of work at hospitals to meet our expenses."

The YDA was formed in July 2008 after the death of female patient Sadaf Munir in Mayo Hospital’s emergency ward. Prof. Dr Javed Akram in his enquiry report put the responsibility of her death on the doctors. Following the verdict, the doctors at the Mayo Hospital formed the YDA to protect their interests and avoid what they called their victimisation.

Cardiologist Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain says there are divisions in the ranks of young doctors, as some support the government while the others are up in arms against it. He recalls that the YDA gained prominence when doctors at the Services Hospital were declared responsible for a death due to wrong blood transfusion and the government tried to proceed against them on murder charges. "This was the time when Fawad Hassan Fawad was the health secretary of Punjab and the PML-N was ruthlessly planning expulsion of doctors from service."

He says that the core issue is that doctors do not have a proper job structure and that the bureaucrats in the health department do not want to give up powers to hire, fire and transfer doctors. "When the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) was formed, its management asked for more powers to hire staff but this demand was not fulfilled," he adds.

He points out that hardly 20 per cent of the doctors are recruited through Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) while the remaining 70 to 80 per cent are appointed on ad hoc basis.

However, he does not agree with the claim that trainee house officers are not paid. "All of these are being paid and I know many who continued to get salaries for years without passing their exams."

YDA President Dr Ajmal Chaudhry urges the government to ensure security at hospitals as every other day the doctors are manhandled by relatives of patients and other miscreants.

He adds once a person was first injured and then followed by his rivals to the emergency where they shot him. "The doctor standing close to the patient could have faced a similar fate."

But, MPA Rana Arshad claims the Punjab government has not received a formal request for a meeting by the YDA. He says most of the issues of young doctors have already been resolved and the current situation has emerged mainly due to their internal rifts and their clash with nurses of the province.

He adds it is quite likely that the issue of young doctors is discussed in the current session of the Punjab Assembly.

On the other hand, YDA Spokesman Dr Khurram Shahzad complains nobody has approached them yet as the date for the announced sit-in is approaching fast. He says they are blamed for violating Essential Services Act (ESA), 1958, and shutting down emergencies but they resort to these actions when the government pays no heed to their repeated requests or when doctors are mishandled or arrested.