SHC directs DUHS to determine if employees are eligible for risk and other allowances

The Sindh High Court has directed the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) to examine whether petitioners who performed comparable duties in wards/labs, emergency rooms, trauma centers, or their offices are eligible for the health professional and special healthcare allowance, or any related allowances, according to existing laws and policies.

Issuing orders on DUHS employees seeking health risk and other allowances, a division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon directed the DUHS to complete the review within three months.

The court observed that its implementation is contingent upon policy decisions by the Sindh government and the respondent university.

It said that if the university adopts such a policy, or has adopted it, the allowances may be granted, and if the university disagrees with the petitioners' claims after consultation with the Sindh government, it must issue a reasoned order after providing the petitioners with a hearing.

Petitioners Aziz Ahmed and others submitted that they were employees of various departments at the Dow University of Health Sciences, appointed between 1984 and 2016 under the Dow University of Health Sciences Act 2004 and preceding legislation.

The petitioners asserted their entitlement to benefits like house ceiling, risk allowance, medical allowance, and annual leave encashment, which are granted to employees of other health universities and hospitals in the region.

Their counsel submitted that they are entitled to a health risk allowance, particularly due to their service during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in Pakistan in early 2020. He said that this allowance was mandated by the Sindh government's ministry of finance through a letter dated July 20, 2020, effective from July 1, 2020.

The counsel said that the letter stipulated monthly allowances of Rs17,000 for employees in grades 1-16 and Rs35,000 for those in Grade 17 and above. He said that the petitioners have received no payment, except for employees at the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases (OICD), part of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), who received it for only three months.

He said the finance director of the DUHS requested the release of Rs263.83 million from the respondents to pay the employees' arrears, but the respondents had failed to ensure payment. The counsel emphasized that other hospitals and universities are providing this allowance to their employees.

He also highlighted that the petitioners, who have served DUHS for many years, are also being denied other allowances, including mess allowance, uniform allowance, nursing allowance, and health risk allowance, all mandated by the Sindh ministry of health.

The counsel further asserted that employees of other universities are receiving these benefits. He argued that Article 4 of the Constitution requires due process and equal treatment under the law, and that the respondents, as public officials, are obligated to act lawfully, not arbitrarily.

The DUHS counsel objected to the maintainability of the petition on the premise that this is a policy matter, out of the jurisdiction of this court under Article 199 of the Constitution. They argued that the petition is based on fabricated information and therefore lacks merit, and should be dismissed.

He asserted that the payment of allowances is a policy matter determined by the employer's financial situation, and according to established legal principles, courts should not interfere with such policies.

He further stated that employees of one autonomous institution cannot claim discrimination by comparing their pay and allowances to those of another, as Article 25 of the Constitution only guarantees equal treatment for employees in identical circumstances. He also argued that the petitioners lack legal standing and a valid cause of action, making the petition dismissible. He contended that the petition is based on factual disputes, misrepresentations, and incorrect legal interpretations, intended to mislead the court, and thus falls outside the court's jurisdiction.

The court observed that the principle of equal pay for equal work is legally enforceable and Article 25 of the Constitution permits reasonable employee classification, provided it aligns with intended objectives.

The court observed that under Article 199, the court possesses the authority to review government policies for reasonableness if applicable in respondent university and to safeguard aggrieved parties' rights.

It stated that the petitioners' counsel pointed out that a similar petition concerning COVID-19 health risk allowance for Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) employees, resulted in the Sindh finance department allocating and releasing Rs24.376 million.

The court observed that the counsel pointed out that the Sindh government ceased the health risk allowance for all health department employees on October 13, 2022. It noted that the secretary of health confirmed that Rs73.920 million had been released to the DUHS for the health risk allowance, covering the period from July 1, 2020. Nonetheless, the allowance was discontinued by the Sindh government on October 14, 2022, and subsequently abolished due to the decline in COVID-19 cases.

The court directed the DUHS to examine the petitioners' cases, who performed comparable duties in wards/labs, emergency rooms, trauma centers, or their offices, and decide whether they were eligible for the health professional and special health care allowance, or any related allowances, according to existing laws and policies. The court observed that those who do not meet the legal requirements will be excluded and this review is to be completed within three months.