Nursing students protest against nonpayment of stipends.

Byline: Ikram Junaidi

ISLAMABAD -- Nonpayment of 10-month stipends till the last day of the financial year forced over 150 nursing students of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) to hold a protest on Tuesday.

The issue not only echoed on the floor of the National Assembly but also resulted in the suspension of two of the hospital employees, including an accountant, further delaying the payment.

The hospital management believed that the protest was a deliberate attempt by the nursing students to resist a proposal to utilise their services for creating public awareness of Covid-19.

Pims management suspends two employees including accountant

The dispute arose last week when the accountant, Mohammad Waqas, contacted the nursing students and informed them that due to shortage of funds he was going to pay them the stipends of eight months, amounting to Rs114,000.

However, a nursing instructor, Liaquat Ali, objected and demanded payment of 10 months. Later, the management suspended the nursing instructor.

On Thursday, the nursing students gathered outside the hospital and started the protest. They broke glasses of windows due to which police were called to avoid any untoward situation.

The nursing students alleged that they were not paid full stipends and every month the accounts section deducted a hefty amount from their stipends. They also criticised the management for suspending their instructor. The protesters demanded that a proper mechanism should be put in place to ensure that the students would be paid full stipends.

Later, the management also suspended the accountant due to which it became impossible to pay the stipends.

The Young Doctors Association also issued a statement...

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