LAHORE: Hundreds of Lady Health Workers (LHWs) from across Punjab staged a sit-in on the main thoroughfare of the provincial metropolis, The Mall, against the lacklustre attitude of the Punjab government to implement their agreed upon demand of regularization.
The sit-in added insult to the injury of majority of commuters who witnessed such scenes on daily basis because of on-going construction works on different roads in the City.Lady Health workers from all parts of the province started reaching the City early morning and gathered at Jinnah Park before staging their protest demo and sit-in at The Mall at around 11: 20 am.
A police official deployed at The Mall told The News that lady health workers reached the road rallying from Jinnah Park. “As they reached Faisal Chowk the Road was shut down for all kinds of traffic at 11:30 am,” he added.
Carrying placards and banners the protesting ladies chanted slogans against the Punjab government and criticised it for not regularizing their services despite the orders of the Supreme Court.
“The chief justice ordered to grant us permanent status last year but the Punjab government has still not done anything in this regard and has deprived us of our salaries,” the participants maintained. Some ladies were also seen having their minor children with them.
Talking to The News, Lady Health Workers Employees Association Punjab president Rukhsana Anwar said that they were forced to take this course as the Punjab government was not heeding to their single demand of regularization. She claimed that the Supreme Court had ordered the provincial government to regularize all LHWs in 2013 but the government failed in implementing the order even after the lapse of one year.
Meanwhile, PTI Punjab president Ejaz Ch said that the government was creating extreme injustice by depriving these lady health workers of their due salary and continuously ignoring their demands. He said that the health sector of Punjab was under continuous deterioration as the government had failed to satisfy the health professional.
