Unpaid dues: Polio workers take to the streets in Mohmand

According to Dr Shabir polio supervisors are paid Rs5,000 whereas the team members are paid Rs2,000 for every campaign

GHALLANAI:

Polio workers in Mohmand Agency have threatened to boycott upcoming polio drives in the agency over the non-payment of dues.

A large number of polio workers protested at Mohmand Press Club on Tuesday and pressed the health department to pay them for their work.

Polio health supervisors Sartaj Khan and Mohammad Ishfaq said they have not been paid for the last five polio campaigns held in the agency. According to the supervisors, polio workers will continue to boycott the campaigns till their demands are fulfilled.

“We have performed our duty in the face of extreme challenges,” Khan told The Express Tribune. “Each time we venture out to provide vaccines to children, we know our lives are under threat.”

The substantial decrease in polio cases being reported from Mohmand Agency can be attributed to the diligence and commitment shown by polio workers, he added.

The coordinator of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in Mohmand Agency, Dr Shabir, claimed polio workers have notified them about their decision to boycott the upcoming drive in December. “These workers have not been paid for the work they have done in the last campaigns, and their demand must be redressed.”

According to Shabir, polio supervisors are paid Rs5,000 whereas the team members are paid Rs2,000 for every campaign. “Nearly Rs3 million per campaign is yet to be paid to polio workers in the agency,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2014.