ISLAMABAD: Employees of hospitals of the federal capital have demanded restoration of health allowance equal to basic pay which was started in 2012 but later frozen in 2015.

The demand has been made through an application submitted to health minister and secretary health.

The application, signed by staff of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic, National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), National Institute of Health and Federal General Hospital, stated that doctors, nurses, para-medics and supporting staff were granted Health Risk Allowance equal to one month running basic pay in 2012 by the federal government headed by then prime minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.

“The step was taken to provide better services to patients but later on the allowance was frozen in 2015, and the employees working in Federal Health Department were also deprived of Disparity Reduction Allowance (2021 and 2022),” it stated.

Chairman of Federal Health Alliance Chaudhry Qamar, while talking to Dawn, said that executive allowance and two scale promotions of class IV employees could not be granted since 2015.

“Employees are facing severe financial problems due to massive inflation. So we have demanded that health allowance should be given to all employees from BPS-1 to BPS-21 of the health department,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2023