LHWs protest over outstanding dues

Claim health dept has already eaten through budget which was allocated to pay them salaries

LAHORE: A large number of lady health workers (LHWs) protested outside the Punjab Assembly over nonpayment of their salaries for the last five months.

The women, who had come from different parts of Punjab districts, blocked the main artery of the city on Monday. Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the health dep¬art¬ment officials, they claimed that the health department has already eaten their budget which was supposed to be allocated for their salaries. They demanded the government increase their job scale to Grade-7.

"We are not here to create any problem for the public, but to lodge a protest against those government officials sitting at the Punjab Assembly. They should have paid attention to our grievances earlier," said Rukhsana Noor, a lady health worker who had come from Multan to take part in the demonstration.



"We are protesting against nonpayment of salaries, lack of increment and various other issues in the department," she added. "The last increment we received was in 2012," she claimed. "We have come from different cities of the province, but we will continue the protest until our demands are met."

Traffic jam

Traffic on routes connecting Mall Road to other thoroughfares of the city such as Kacheri Road and Hall Road were badly affected and the commuters remained stuck in the chaos for hours.

Due to blockade of the Mall Road, the traffic got disrupted on Davis Road, Edgerton Road, Jail Road, Mughalpura, Garhi Shahu, Governor House, Dharam Pura, Lawrence Road and Canal Road.

The traffic jam had expanded to Moulana Zafar Ali Road, Garden Town, Jinnah Hospital, Muslim Town, Barkat Market and other areas due to disruption on Canal Road.

LHWs protest in Bhakkar

The Lady Health Workers staged a protest demonstration in favour of their demands in Bhakkar on Monday. The protesters demanded the government to pay their salaries and issue pay scale service structure to them. They gathered at Fawwara Chowk and shouted slogans in favour of their demands. A massive traffic jam was witnessed on major roads while commuters were stuck in gridlock for hours.

The LHWs said that even after the passage of six years, their dues had not been paid. They said the government had failed to fulfill its promises and deprived them of their due rights. Meanwhile, Health Department CEO Dr Suleman said that salaries of the entire department had not been released and soon the payments will be made.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2018.