RAHIM YAR KHAN: Ad hoc and daily-wage employees of the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) under the banner of the Grand Health Alliance (GHA) organised a protest rally here on Monday against the health authorities and the hospital administration for their ‘biased’ approach in their service matters.

Rejecting their claim, officials say over 800 ad hoc and daily-wagers were hired in the past against rules and regulations.

Members of the Young Doctors Association, the Pharmacists Association, the Young Nurses Association, the Pakistan Allied Health Professionals Organisation, the Pakistan Health Support Staff Organisation, the Young Paramedics Association, the Employees Welfare Association and the All Pakistan Clerks Association joined the procession from the OPD to the main gate of the SZMCH where they staged a sit-in.

Traffic remained suspended on the Hospital Road for more than an hour.

Workers seek regularisation; admin says hiring illegal

GHA leaders Dr Shabbir Warraich, Dr Atif Nawaz Chandia, Mian Mazhar Rehman, Rana Sufyan and sister Rebeka spoke.

They alleged said a senior health official and the hospital administration wanted to recruit their blue-eyed people by replacing more than 750 ad hoc and daily-wage employees of the SZMCH.

They said that these employees had been denied permanent jobs for the last 10 to 15 years. Moreover, they were not issued salary for the month of September till now. They alleged the health department had appointed Aamir Ghazi as a member of the Board of Management of the SZMCH who did not finalise the minutes of the last meeting. They urged the government to immediately dissolve the SZMCH board and new members should be inducted for the betterment of institute, employees and patients.

GHA leaders warned that the SZMCH MS should be transferred or they would themselves stop him from entering the institution.

The spokesperson for the SZMCH, Rana Ilyas Ahmed, told Dawn that 88 illegally-hired employees had already been dismissed from service. He said the SZMCH administration had offered these 758 employees to join the regular process of recruitment where they would be given extra privileges in selection.

“If all these protesting employees apply for regular jobs, they will get five marks extra.”

He said the SZMCH administration was considering the matter of these employees seriously. He said protesting employees were recruited in violation of rules.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2021