The Odisha Pharmacy Service Association (OPSA) on Sunday announced that all the 2,200 pharmacists working in the Government hospitals and medical college hospitals would go on indefinite mass leave from July 22, if their six-point demands, including removal of pay disparity with provision of Central scale was not considered by end of this week.
Addressing a Press conference here, Khirod Kumar Prusty, president, and Siba Narayan Praharaj, secretary of the OPSA regretted that though the high level committee headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had recommended in July 7, 2010 for consideration of their demands including removal of pay anomaly and provision of promotional avenue for the pharmacy cadre, so far nothing had been done.
They said that despite their reasonable demands, the anomaly in pay scale of the pharmacists continues to exist for the last 23 years resulting in financial losses. Even the pharmacists are getting less pay than that of nursing sisters, they said, and demanded that the basic pay scale of pharmacists should be fixed at Rs 9,300 with grade pay of Rs 4,200.
Considering the demand relating to the career promotion of the pharmacists, though the Chief Minister had directed the Health and Family Welfare authorities to work out a career path up to the rank of Deputy Director, so far no action has been taken, said Praharaj.
Similarly, no step has been taken despite Chief Minister’s direction for creation of additional 2,500 posts of pharmacists to meet the IPHS norms and to strengthen the primary health care delivery in the rural set up, he said, adding that despite increase in the PHCs, CHCs and other medical institutions, the sanctioned strength of pharmacist cadre has remained at 2,352 of which around 150 posts are lying vacant.
Their demands include creation of more posts as per IPHS, fixing degree in Pharmacy as minimum qualification for the post of pharmacist and allotment of a Government quarters for the association, Praharaj said.