The Punjab chapter of the Young Doctors Association (YDA) finally called off its strike on Thursday after a 37-day long agitation as a ‘goodwill gesture’ to coincide with the World Health Day. After the announcement junior doctors started resuming their duties at public sector hospitals of the province.
The drop scene of the longest-ever strike of doctors in the country came after a 17-minute long meeting between Shahbaz Sharif and four YDA leaders at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, where the latter announced calling off the strike.
Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa, the chief minister’s senior adviser, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Senator Pervaiz Rashid were also present on the occasion. The YDA was represented by its president and secretary general.
Sources said the breakthrough was made late on Wednesday at a meeting between the YDA leaders Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.
The minister argued that the closure of emergency departments of public hospitals on the Health Day would bring a bad name to the country. As a result, a majority of doctors resumed their duties on Thursday morning.
The law minister assured the doctors the government was ready to accept their demands for a pay raise.
Rana Sanaullah also informed the YDA leaders that the Punjab Health Department had been directed to reinstate all sacked young doctors and to withdraw notices issued to agitators.
The ban on the entry of protesting doctors in public sector health institutions of the province would also be lifted, the YDA was assured.
“The young doctors have restored all critical care departments of the state-run health facilities, including emergency and ICU-CCU,” Rana Sanaullah told Dawn.
He said all the young doctors, including YDA office-bearers whose services had been terminated by the department during the strike, would be reinstated immediately.
The law minister said the YDA had called off its strike unconditionally.
The association’s office-bearers told the media at Services Hospital that the chief minister had accepted their demands and assured them that the salary issue would be resolved on a priority basis.
YDA’s Punjab president Dr Hamid Butt said all the critical care departments of the public hospitals, including OPDs, had been made functional after most doctors returned to work on Thursday.
He said the chief minister had set up a six-member committee, comprising Sirdar Zulfiqar Khosa, Pervaiz Rasheed and Rana Sanaullah from the government side, and YDA office-bearers Dr Haroon, Dr Abbacy Gondola and Dr Nair, to prepare recommendations regarding the special pay package and submit a report within 15 days.
Hospital sources confirmed the critical care departments functioned fully on Thursday. The attendance of doctors was almost 80 per cent.
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