KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon on Wednesday rejected protesting healthcare providers’ demand for restoration of Covid-19 risk allowance, saying the pandemic poses no threat to public health and doctors in the province have Getting better salaries. Counterparts in other provinces.
But he did not reveal any plans to bring the protesting workers back to duty as the closure of key services in government hospitals for more than a month has left patients suffering across Sindh.
Explaining the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stand on matters ranging from the appointment of the Army Chief to local body elections, the minister claimed in a press conference that the government did not have money to give allowances.
It will cost the government around 22 billion rupees. If the government had the funds, it would have paid them the allowance. Right now our focus is on the rehabilitation of flood victims. We are offering financial assistance to farmers and aim to build houses for the poor who have been displaced by the calamity,” he said.
Minister Says Allowance Would Cost Rs22bn
to Govt, Which Has No Money
“This [allowance] is being given during the pandemic, which is now over. So, their demand is unfair,” he said.
To a question, Mr. Memon said everyone wanted to address the “genuine demands” of the protesting healthcare workers.
“The government would like to solve the problem but not through pressure (tactics). The medical profession is great. We respect the health workers and appreciate their services, especially during the pandemic,” he said. .
Asked about the use of force against protesting workers last week, he said the red zone law was the same for all citizens.
“People are protesting on the streets and in the press club every day, but no one stops them. But when you enter the red zone, the law will apply. The government did not stop them even when they protested in outpatients. chose to close the departments, a step that should have been avoided as it created too many problems for patients.”
The minister, however, failed to share a plan with reporters on how to end the suffering of poor patients who cannot afford treatment in private hospitals.
Government hospitals across Sindh are no longer providing key health services to patients.
Meanwhile, representing the protesting doctors, nurses and paramedics, the Grand Health Alliance deplored the “government’s attitude” and urged PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to address their grievances. Fix it.
“Unfortunately, the government is not willing to communicate with its own employees which is why all the hospitals are now empty. Patients are running from pillar to post and infectious diseases are spreading,” said an Alliance spokesperson.
He criticized the elements trying to create a rift between the Etihad and the Health Minister and said that the GHA has condemned the critical statements of the Health Minister, which are being attributed to the Etihad.
We want this issue to be resolved through dialogue. People’s Party has always supported the rights of workers and we hope that they will not let us down. Otherwise, workers know how to get their rights through the vote.
The Department of Health last month withdrew the Covid-19 risk allowance on the basis that the population was no longer at risk from the pandemic.
This allowance was announced two years ago when the pandemic hit the country. Healthcare providers from grade 1 to 16 were given Rs 17,000 while those above grade 16 were given Rs 35,000. It was also shut down in 2020, but later reopened after protests.
