PMA Demands Equal Pay for Trainee Doctors in Private Hospitals

By Farzana Chaudhry | Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has called on the Government of Pakistan to ensure that trainee doctors, house officers, and postgraduate trainees working in private hospitals receive salaries equal to those paid in government hospitals.
Professor Shahid Malik, President of the PMA, urged the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, and the President of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to take immediate action against the alleged exploitation of young doctors in private medical institutions.
He said many private medical colleges and their affiliated teaching hospitals require trainee doctors to work long hours while paying them extremely low wages—or, in some cases, no salary at all. According to him, such practices are unfair to young medical professionals and ultimately compromise the quality of medical education and patient care.
Professor Malik noted that private medical colleges charge students substantial tuition fees throughout the MBBS program, often amounting to millions of rupees. Despite these revenues, he said, many institutions fail to provide house officers and trainee doctors with fair salaries, health insurance, accommodation, meals, and other essential employment benefits.
The PMA has demanded that the PMDC and CPSP immediately conduct audits of private medical colleges and training institutions that allegedly fail to pay doctors in accordance with approved standards or require them to work without compensation.
The association also called for strict regulatory action against institutions found guilty of underpaying or exploiting trainee doctors. Proposed measures include the suspension of MBBS admissions, restrictions on new registrations, denial of requests to increase student seats, and withdrawal of institutional recognition until transparent salary structures and lawful employment practices are implemented.
Professor Shahid Malik appealed to the Prime Minister to introduce a uniform national policy for all private medical colleges and teaching hospitals, ensuring that every doctor completing house job or postgraduate training is guaranteed a fair salary, safe working conditions, and basic professional rights.