Health professionals decide to go on strike from Feb 15

KARACHI: The Grand Health Alliance Sindh chapter has announced to go on strike from February 15 after raising demands for making health risk allowance permanent, recruitment of nurses and others, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

The Grand Health Alliance Sindh announced to observe strike outside Karachi Press Club from February 15. The health professionals said that the strike will be continued till the fulfilment of their demands.

The alliance placed demands for declaring the permanent health risk allowance, service structure and martyrs’ package, transfers of Covid workers, recruitments of nurses and others.

They also threatened to march towards Chief Minister House if the government fails to fulfil their demands.

Moreover, the workers of Down University have threatened to boycott COVID-19 vaccination drive over non-payment of health risk allowance by the Sindh health department.

Read: Govt approves risk allowance for medics fighting COVID-19

The workers announced to organise a protest against the Sindh government. They alleged that health risk allowance is being awarded to only blue-eyed persons by the provincial health department instead of its disbursement to all frontline health workers.

In June last year, the Sindh government had decided to provide risk allowance to all the employees of health department.

The government had decided to give Rs17,000 as risk allowance to the employees of health department from grade 1 to 16, while grade 17 and above will be given Rs35,000, the sources added.

The summary proposed disbursement of Rs5,000 to nursing students as risk allowance, Rs10,000 to house job doctors, Rs15,000 to postgraduate doctors.