Health Assistants Association's demo continues for second day

Bangladesh Health Assistants Association staged demonstration for the second consecutive day on Sunday to press home their 6-point demand including implementation of the 10th grade for their positions.

The health assistance and others gathered in Central Shaheed Minar in the capital and staged demonstrations.

UNB Kushtia correspondent reports, medical technologists and pharmacists in Kushtia observed a two-hour work abstention on Sunday demanding elimination of long-standing pay disparities and implementation of the 10th grade for their positions.

The technologists and pharmacists joined the programme at Kushtia Medical College Hospital, the 250-bed Kushtia General Hospital and various health facilities across the district from 9 am to 11 am.

Hospital services were disrupted due to the work abstention, causing significant suffering for patients seeking treatment.

During the programme, participants also formed a human chain on the hospital premises.

Speakers said that although other diploma-holding officials across the country have been upgraded to the second class, medical technologists and pharmacists continue to face discrimination.

They expressed frustration that their demands remained unheeded despite movements.

Mohammad Rafiqul Rahman, a diploma pharmacist at Kushtia General Hospital, said, “All other diploma-qualified officials receive second-class status, yet we are still treated as employees. This is clear discrimination. We urge the government to meet our demands immediately, or we will announce tougher programmes.”

Md Sheikh Tarek, a medical technologist at Kushtia Medical College Hospital, said, “The 10th grade is not a demand but our right. The notification should be issued without delay. Today we observed a two-hour programme but next time, we may go for a full shutdown.”

Patients seeking treatment faced difficulties, with many waiting at medicine counters for a long time with prescriptions in hand.

Dr Hossain Imam, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of Kushtia General Hospital, said several patients complained in the morning that they could not obtain medicines.

“I later saw that the staff had hung a work-stoppage banner. This has increased patient suffering. A large number of people come to our hospital for treatment every day. Technologists and pharmacists are a crucial part of hospital services, and their demands need urgent consideration,” he said.

If they enforce a shutdown, ordinary people will be deprived of essential healthcare, and therefore the government should take prompt, effective action, he said.