Governance issue: Health workers block The Mall

Police unable to convince protesters to end the sit-in .

LAHORE: Scores of lady health workers staged a protest demonstration blocking The Mall for traffic on Monday.

They were demanding release of their salaries unpaid for six months and for announcement of a service structure.

The protesters gathered at Faisal Chowk and chanted slogans like Sada Haq Aethay Rakh (give us our rights), Lady Health Workers Ke Liay Service Structure Manzoor Karo (approve a service structure for lady health workers) and Humary Tankhwa Ada Karo (Pay us our salaries).

The protest continued till the filing of this report, causing inconvenience to commuters who were diverted towards Cooper Road and Queens Road.

Traffic on these and other adjoining roads also remained slow all day.

Several skirmishes were reported between protesting health workers and angry commuters. Two of the protesters fainted and were taken to a nearby hospital.

Civil Lines SP Haroon Rasheed told The Tribune that the police were holding talks with representatives of the protesters.

He said they were being asked to end the sit-in. He said if the protesters refused to do so, he would appoint some officials at the spot to ensure security.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Natasha, a protester, said she belonged to a poor household and she had to contribute to her family’s finances. She said she had been surviving on loans for six months.

Rida, another protester, said she would encourage her colleagues to continue the sit-in until their salaries were released. She said they could not trust the government. She said she understood the plight of the commuters caught in traffic jams. “I sympathise with them but I don’t see any other way of pressing the government pay me,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2015.