ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Monday said they will play their role in removing grievances of the employees of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) regarding the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Ordinance.

As the government has decided to table the MTI ordinance in parliament, and it has been included in the agenda of the current session, a delegation of employees led by National Health Alliance (NHA) Chairman Dr Asfandyar Khan on Monday reached Parliament House to seek help of the political leadership and parliamentarians.

NA speaker also says draft of MTI ordinance will be referred to standing committee where it can be amended

The representatives of the Pims employees met Maryam Nawaz and sought her support to reject the ordinance. Ms Nawaz asked them to give their grievances in writing and assured them that she will direct the PML-N parliamentarians to oppose the ordinance.

Mr Mandviwalla, during a meeting with the employees, said he had already discussed the matter with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and got an assurance that the ordinance will be amended.

Speaker Asad Qaiser also assured the employees that their concerns will be removed. He said the draft of the ordinance will be referred to the standing committee in the form of a bill and can be amended there.

Earlier, PPP Senator Rehman Malik reached Pims and assured the employees that his party will resist attempts to change the status of the hospital. Addressing the protesters, he said the PPP had always taken care of Pims employees.

“The privatisation of Pims is unacceptable. My party and I will stay with you until the employees get their rights. You should also go to the Supreme Court against this injustice,” he added.

In Nov 2020, President Dr Arif Alvi promulgated the MTI ordinance under which the hospital will be run through a board of governors (BoG). The members of the BoG have been appointed and notified by the ministry of NHS on the recommendation of a search and nomination council. The members have elected Dr Humayun Mahmand as the chairman of the BoG.

The BoG has the overall superintendence and control over the functions of the hospital. However, the employees have been protesting against the ordinance as they believe that they will lose the status of civil servants.Meanwhile, the employees said Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) was deliberately trying to give an impression that the funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had been stopped due to the protests of employees.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Asfandyar Khan claimed that the funding was stopped because of the MTI ordinance as rules of the hospital could not be made.

According to a letter signed by Pims Joint Executive Director Dr Minhajus Siraj and sent to the ministry of NHS, a notification for an “ad interim management committee” issued by the office of chairman BoG stated that the employees shall continue to draw salaries. However, financial rules and administrative rules have not been defined/approved under the MTI ordinance till date.

He said Pims Executive Director Dr Ansar Maxood retired on Jan 14 after reaching the age of superannuation due to which financial problems also increased.

Dr Asfandyar said JICA Tokyo suspended a tender for the extension of the intensive care at Maternal and Child Health Care Centre and Children’s Hospital at Pims.

JICA has sought evidence that Pims continues to have the administrative and technical capacity for executing the project, he added.

“It has happened because of the MTI rather than the protest by the employees. Moreover, had the president not promulgated the ordinance, we would not have been protesting,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2021