JI demands job security for 450 Children Hospital employees

By KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has urged the Sindh government to protect the jobs of employees at the Sindh Government Children Hospital in North Karachi, where 450 workers have been terminated and salaries and other dues have remained unpaid for five months. A delegation of doctors, paramedical staff and other employees of the hospital met JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan at Idara Noor-e-Haq on Tuesday and briefed him on the hospital's deteriorating condition and problems arising after its handover to a new administration. The delegation said 450 employees, including doctors and paramedical staff, had lost their jobs following the change in administration, while their salaries and other dues had not been paid for five months. Assuring them of JI's full support, Monem Zafar said the party had previously raised its voice against the hospital's deteriorating condition and in support of employees' demands. It had also staged protests with them and would continue to stand by the workers. He said JI MPA Muhammad Farooq would raise the issue in the Sindh Assembly to demand job protection for all employees, including doctors and paramedical staff. The party would also approach the provincial health department. 'Rendering 450 employees jobless cannot be acceptable in any way. It is the responsibility of the Sindh government to bind the new administration to retain the employees,' he said. The delegation said that instead of transferring their jobs to the new administration, the employees were issued termination letters on September 28, 2026, informing them that their employment would end on September 30. It termed the move sheer injustice. The delegation said the hospital was established in 2003 and was later handed over to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In 2016, the Sindh government transferred its administration to another NGO, the Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI), under a 10-year agreement that expired in 2026. Following the expiry of the agreement, the hospital was being handed over to a new NGO, which had rendered the employees jobless in the first phase of the transition, the delegation said. It added that employees had received no increase in salaries or allowances during the 10-year period and their dues had remained unpaid. Meanwhile, the Sindh government had provided annual grants ranging from Rs450 million to Rs750 million to the hospital administration. JI District North Secretary Shakeel Ahmed and Public Aid Committee Karachi Secretary Najeeb Ayubi were also present at the meeting. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026