PESHAWAR, Jan 10: The NWFP Contract Doctors Association has rejected the government's claim of extending their contracts by three years, saying the notification issued on Jan 8, is misleading.
Talking to Dawn, Dr Taimur Shah provincial president of the contract doctors association, said that they had been demanding of the government to extend their contracts without subjecting them to qualifying the Public Service Commission's examinations, but the notification issued by the government was deceptive.
The notification issued on Jan 8 and circulated to all the districts, teaching hospitals and agency surgeons, said that the competent authority is pleased to terminate the contract of the doctors on Dec 31, 2003 and to award fresh contract to them from Jan 1, for a period of three years till the arrival of the fresh selectees of the PSC, whichever is earlier.
Dr Taimur, said that the Sindh government had already regularized the services of contract doctors through proper legislation, whereas there was no contractual employment in other provinces of the country.
"We have been working on contractual jobs since 1995. Every government has been making promises to regularise our jobs, but none of them has so far honoured these promises", said association's president. He said that recently the services of 70 dental surgeons were terminated and new appointments were made. These doctors, he said had gained experience, which needed to be taken to consideration while making appointments.
At present, there were 746 doctors, including 170 lady doctors who had been working on contractual basis in far-flung areas of the province against fixed salaries. He argued that these doctors had passed the PSC's tests and interviews on more than one occasion and it was unjust and unfair to interview them for the contractual jobs again and again.
These doctors were not awarded annual increments and other benefits, which was against the rules, he added.
He said that before the installation of the MMA government in NWFP, their contracts were renewed on year-to-year basis on the recommendations of the medical superintendents, executive district officers, health and agency surgeons, but the MMA government had linked the renewal of their contracts with the passing of the PSC tests.
Dr Taimur said that the government had started interviews for 967 contract posts of doctors through PSC from Nov 20, which also included 746 posts on which the doctors have already been working. About 2,500 jobless doctors are also competing for the same posts, he said and added that they could not compete with the fresh graduates as far as qualifying of the PSC's examination was concerned.
"This is the handiwork of the bureaucracy, who wanted to create problems for the government", he said, adding that they would continue their struggle against the wrong policy of the government.
He said that the government should follow the past government who extended their contracts without subjecting the contract doctors to the PSC tests and save them from rendering jobless.
