Show me the money: EPI workers to protest today for unpaid salaries

Polio drive concludes in Peshawar.

PESHAWAR: Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) workers announced a sit-in outside the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday (t0day) to press for the payment of their salaries, saying they will not budge till their demands are met. 

According to the EPI members’ association president, Irfan Khan, the programme’s technicians, clerks and doctors will hold a demonstration followed by a sit-in outside the provincial assembly.  Khan added a protest in May ended after promises to clear their dues were made by the provincial government.

“The health ministry promised to pay us. Seven months later EPI technicians, clerks and other employees are yet to be paid,” Khan said on Sunday.

The association’s president also said EPI workers have arrived from as far as Chitral, Mansehra and Abbottabad to take part in the sit-in. Khan added none of them had been paid despite performing their duties.

Meanwhile, a day-long polio immunisation campaign concluded in Peshawar. Health department officials said a short interval additional dose (SIAD) campaign was held on Sunday when 754,383 children were administered polio drops.

They said a total of 4,238 mobile teams, in addition to 202 fixed teams, took part in the exercise across 97 union councils of the district. The officials added 834 people were appointed as area in charges, while motorcycle riding was completely banned during the period.

The total number of children affected by polio has reached 295 in Pakistan this year with four recently identified cases. There was a case each from Khyber Agency and Killa Abdullah in Balochistan, while two other patients were confirmed from Peshawar last week.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2014.