Pak: Shangla lady health workers resume strike over unpaid salary

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], April 6 : The lady health workers, their supervisors and their drivers resumed their strike here the other day after the government failed to fulfil its commitment to release their pending salaries for the last seven months, Dawn reported.

Information Secretary of lady health workers' association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shahid Khan told reporters that the health department had assured payment of pending salaries within seven days when the LHWs associated with the Integrated Health Project (IHP) had started refraining from their duties two months ago, but to no use.

He said that LHWs had made the decision to go back on strike and wouldn't be taking part in the upcoming provincial immunisation programmes. He clarified that only the IHP LHWs would be abstaining from their normal tasks; the regular LHWs and their supervisors would continue to get their regular pay.

Rehana Bibi, an LHW, said that despite the department's prior assurances that their unpaid wages for the prior two months will be placed into their accounts within a few days, this promise was broken two months ago, as per a Dawn report.

She also said that the LHWs had set aside funds to pay for stationery, schedule meetings and go on field trips in the hopes that they would be timely compensated, but the government had broken its promises. She said they would struggle without pay for the impending Eidul Fitr.

Another LHW, Saira Bano, said it was a great injustice that they had not been paid for seven months. She added that if their salaries were not immediately paid, they would boycott anti-polio, dengue campaigns and other public health programmes, Dawn reported.