Due to non-payment of salaries for past three months, the paramedical and clerical staff of the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Tuesday went on strike due to which OPD services got affected.
It has been the third time the employees chose the way of strike to get their salaries released and they had given prior ultimatum to the PIMS administration.
"We were going to stage protest from October 1 but PIMS faced a setback of banning the admissions by high court, so we postponed our stir on the request of medical superintendent for one week," said an agitating employee adding that, "PIMS management had failed to redress our demands."
Earlier in April, the employees continued their strike for nearly 20 days and they chose similar path in May end also.
The PIMS administration had not paid salaries to paramedical staff after June and to the doctors the salary was pending for past five months, sources said.
The paramedical staff, including radiographers, operation theatre assistants, computer operators, laboratory technicians and clerks sat on dharna on Tuesday morning and raised slogans against the PIMS management for their inability to solve continued financial crunch.
{{/usCountry}}The paramedical staff, including radiographers, operation theatre assistants, computer operators, laboratory technicians and clerks sat on dharna on Tuesday morning and raised slogans against the PIMS management for their inability to solve continued financial crunch.
{{/usCountry}}Due to strike, the OPD services were hit badly but services to indoor patients were functional, sources added.
The PIMS is being managed by Punjab minister of rural development and panchayats Surjit Singh Rakhra-led charitable society, PIMS medical and education charitable society, to whom the institute had been handed over on 99-year lease.
"The state government should take the matter seriously and they should take immediate measures to resolve the issues," said another employee. None from the PIMS management was available for the comments.