PIMS workers demanding separation of hospital from medical university

ISLAMABAD: The workers of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) have been demanding the hospital to get detached from the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University so that they could ensure their status as an employee of the federal government.

Vice Chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Javed Akram ensured the employees that their status is safe and that they do have a right to protest but interruption of services will not be exempted.

Further the Chairman of the Joint Action Committee, Syed Manzar Abbas Naqvi said that the employees should not suspend their services as it is a matter of people lives.

After the Islamabad bill passed in 2013, PIMS was upgraded to a medical university and was allowed to give diplomas, degrees and other academic distinctions. However after that the welfare hospital got affiliated with the university.

Gradually, the status of the employees changed from that of a civil servant. The quotas for hiring the children of employees and their admission in various courses are also being withdrawn and they will also have to pay for medical treatment and then later would apply for reimbursement.

PIMS employees have been protested various times and have announced that they will protest again from Monday.

Dr Naqvi said that although PIMS has become a university, the HEC is yet to give funds for it. He further added that on 12th July 2016, the employees of the hospital came to work with red bands on their arms but no one ahd an idea about it so didn't spoke about their issue. He also said that he would call the employees shortly and would try to convince them that they should not hold protest because their demands are not genuine.