Dera ismail khan: Employees of Medical Teaching Institution (MTI), Dera Ismail Khan, on Thursday staged a protest in front of the Administration Block of DHQ Teaching Hospital and later gathered outside the hospital premises, demanding approval of their service structure, increase in salaries and payment of other financial benefits.
The protest was participated by doctors, clerical staff, nursing staff, paramedics, pharmacists, storekeepers and Class-IV employees of DHQ Hospital, Mufti Mehmood Teaching Hospital, Women Hospital and Gomal Medical College.
The protesting employees said they had been raising their demands with the administration intermittently for the last seven to eight years and had also submitted written applications and held several meetings with the authorities. However, they said, despite repeated assurances, no practical progress had been made on their demands.
During the protest, the Hospital Director also visited the protesting employees and held discussions with them. The employees said they had received similar assurances in the past as well, but stressed that verbal assurances were no longer sufficient and that concrete steps were required for resolution of their issues.
The employees demanded approval of a comprehensive service structure, a 30 percent increase in salaries for the current year and financial benefits and packages at par with other employees.
They announced that if their demands were not addressed, they would boycott services from Friday and stage a sit-in at the Board of Governors (BOG) Secretariat. They said the protest would continue until formal notifications regarding the salary increase and service structure were issued.
The employees also urged the district administration to take immediate notice of the matter and play an effective role in facilitating negotiations between the employees and MTI administration for an amicable resolution of their demands.