KARACHI: The Joint Employees Committee of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), representing multiple staff associations, has raised serious concerns regarding the rights and service protections of devolved cadre employees.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Dispute Resolution Committee in Islamabad and the Executive Director of JPMC, the committee urged authorities to immediately resolve the long-standing disputes affecting federal government employees working at JPMC.
The letter, signed by representatives of the Young Nurses Association, All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA), Pakistan Peoples Paramedical Staff, and Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association, emphasized that while employees are not opposed to working under the Sindh Government, they categorically reject being placed under any autonomous board or non-governmental organization.
The employees put forward a 10-point charter of demands, including:
- Retention of civil servant status as per federal government rules.
- Reinstatement of all abolished federal posts.
- Award of time-scale promotions for devolved cadre employees (BPS-01 to BPS-16).
- Service structure improvements in line with federal health personnel.
- Granting of a 20% deputation allowance and house hiring allowance under federal rules.
- Implementation of federal government rules for devolved cadre employees.
- Filling of vacancies strictly through promotions under federal service regulations.
- Priority housing in the Jinnah Hospital residential colony for JPMC employees.
- The committee stated that ignoring these issues has created unrest among employees and called for urgent action.
The letter was jointly signed by Syed Shahid Iqbal Ahmed (President, Young Nurses Association Sindh), Hassan Pathan (General Secretary, APCA), Ameer Ali Deenari (President, Pakistan Peoples Paramedical Staff), and Haq Nawaz Siyal (Chairman, Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association).
The employees urged the government to consider their “genuine demands” on top priority to ensure service security and staff welfare at one of the country’s largest tertiary care hospitals.
