PMA threatens strike for special salary package

LAHORE, Feb 28: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has announced observing a nationwide strike during the next leg of its comprehensive protest drive in case the government did not come up with a special salary package for doctors soon. Officials of the PMA's Punjab and Lahore chapters Dr. Ashraf Nizami, Dr. Tanveer Anwar, Dr. Izhar Chaudhry, Dr. Akhtar Rashid Malik, Dr. Ehsanur Rehman, Dr. Kamran Saeed, Dr. Salman Kazmi, and Dr. Khalid Chaudhry told reporters at the PMA House on Monday that the association had started a national campaign to procure from the government a special salary package for the doctors. They said the PMA had taken into confidence other organisations, including Young Doctors Association, Provincial Doctor Association and Medical Teachers Association, and had completed the first phase of the protest movement in which posters and pamphlets were distributed. The PMA had also called a provincial convention on March 28 in which all organisations of doctors from across the country would participate to agitate the demand of a special salary package. They said the PMA had already conveyed to the government that a special salary package for the house officers, postgraduates, medical officers, senior registrars and doctors of the teaching, general and administrative cadres was need of the hour to effectively block a huge brain drain. Fearing that the government would raise the salaries of only one class of doctors to divide the community, the PMA officials said that any such move would not be accepted at any cost. They also demanded that all seats of BS-17 to BS-20 doctors, especially 4,000 seats of medical officers, be filled on a priority basis through the Punjab Public Service Commission and specialists, senior medical officers and assistant professors be promoted. The PMA officials warned that a group of doctors was planning holding a strike to get a 'minimum salary raise' for only one class of doctors which was a matter of concern for the entire community. They invited all the organisations to participate in their national protest drive to press the government emphatically for announcing a special pay package instead of launching such campaigns individually. Meanwhile, Punjab health parliamentary secretary Dr. Saeed Elahi has said that the strike call given by a group of doctors was unconstitutional, illegal and against the principles of Islam as it would endanger the lives of patients and bring a bad name to the noble profession. According to a handout, Dr Elahi said this while talking to a representative delegation of doctors consisting of Dr. Akhtar Rashid, Dr. Tehsin Riaz, Dr. Shahbaz Khan, Dr. Riaz Hussain and Dr. Faisal Baig. Dr. Elahi said that a committee headed by the chief secretary was working on preparing pay packages for the doctors and had met a number of times. He said the chief minister had shown great interest in the matter and had decided to enhance the salaries in phases as huge sums of money – to the tune of Rs18 billion – were required to enhance the salaries abruptly. The delegation members disassociated themselves from the strike call given by a group of doctors and assured Dr. Elahi that they had complete faith in the assurance given by the chief minister in this regard. Dr. Elahi said that complete security would be provided to those doctors who would not observe strike and would perform their duties instead.