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KARACHI: National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) employees ended their three-day strike after successful negotiations with the Sindh government.
The employees had been protesting regarding the release of the Covid health risk allowance and regularising contracts. The strike caused immense hardship to patients as all departments except emergency services remained closed.
The Sindh health department has agreed to release the health risk allowance and professional health allowance of Grade 1-7 health workers withheld for the past year.
The government also agreed to regularise contractual NICVD employees after approval from governing body. The health department will also release pending two months’ dues.
The Out Patient Department (OPD) services had remained suspended for three days following a protest from the staffers for the approval of their demands. Cardiac patients faced immense difficulty and had to return without receiving treatment after the employees refused to end their strike until their demands were met.
The NICVD employees had claimed that rather than being provided a COVID allowance during the pandemic, their salaries for December have been released after deduction without giving any explanation.
They demanded the administration to reverse the deducted amount and has threatened to continue boycotting the OPD services until their demands are met. In December 2021, the staff had also boycotted the hospital services and observed a strike for their demands.