Sindh Government Hospital Staff to Boycott OPDs Over Pay Demands

Employees of government hospitals across Sindh have announced a boycott of outpatient departments (OPDs) starting Tuesday, vowing to continue their protest until their financial demands are addressed.

The workers are calling for a 70% salary increase for all permanent employees from grade 1 to 22, a 50% rise in disparity allowance, timely release of group insurance and benevolent fund payments, and assurances that no cuts will be made to pensions.

The strike has been organized under the banner of the Grand Health Alliance (GHA), which brings together several associations, including the Pakistan Medical Association, the Young Doctors Association, the Young Nurses Association, the Allied Health Professionals Association Sindh, the Sindh Paramedical Staff, the Young Paramedics, and the Sindh Employees Alliance.

GHA leaders stated that the strike would paralyze OPD services and administrative offices across the province, while emergency services would remain operational. The decision was finalized during a meeting at Civil Hospital Karachi, attended by senior representatives, including Sindh Employees Alliance Chairman Haji Muhammad Ashraf Khaskheli.

Union leaders clarified that the boycott was not politically motivated but a collective effort to secure what they described as “long-overdue rights” for health sector employees. “This step has been taken to push for the approval of our just demands,” they said, warning that the strike would persist until the provincial government shows “practical and positive action.”

They also emphasized that staff across Sindh’s government hospitals were united on a single platform and ready to make sacrifices to achieve their objectives.