November 24, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1428

FAISALABAD, Nov 23: At least 100 daily wagers were sacked by the Allied and district headquarters hospitals and the Punjab Medical College administrations without serving notice on them, only to accommodate the people recommended by PML bigwigs, Dawn learnt on Friday.

Sweepers, trolley men, security guards, chair attendants, sanitary workers, ward boys and peons in the three institutions were hired as contingent paid staff a couple of years ago during a ban on appointments. The sacked people say the administrations had assured them at the time of recruitments that they would be regularised when the government lift ban on appointments.

The employees were recruited under the Punjab Medical and Health Ordinance 2002.

PMC Principal Dr Asghar Ali Randhawa, also chief executive of Allied and DHQ hospitals, informed the MS’ of both hospitals that he planned to recruit new employees on a contract instead of accommodating the contingent paid staff.

Sources said though principal Dr Randhawa formed a selection committee consisting of principal and MS of the two hospitals, they were not given importance when appointment letters were issued. All appointments were made on the recommendations of PML leaders who helped Dr Randhawa appointed principal by former chief minister Pervaiz Elahi.

By designation both medical superintendents are entitled to reject or accept any candidate, but they could not exercise their powers owing to alleged political pressure. A sacked employee told Dawn a few of the employees aging 23 to 27 were shown the doors because they were “over-aged”. But the new recruits were aged over 35 years.

A senior doctor of the Allied Hospital called the kicking out of more than 100 daily wagers an unwise decision. He said the administration sacked them without any complaint, though they rendered excellent services. He said all people fired by the administration were low-grade employees and this was done only to please political figures of the district.

He said few of the senior doctors raised the issue with Dr Randhawa and urged him to back out the decision, but he refused to budge from his position. The outgoing CM regularised nearly 1,600 daily-wagers of the Traffic Engineering and Town Planning Agency in Lahore, a day ahead of relinquishing the charge of his office.

Dr Randhawa told Dawn that scores of seats were vacant and daily-wagers recruited to run the affairs. He said he had sacked old daily wagers as appointments had been made according to the CM’s order. About the recommendation of the PML candidates, he said, “Yes, my politician friends recommended the people ‘those were Indian and Britain”.