Health department’s wagers protest for non-payment of salaries

Rawalpindi: Hundreds of daily wage workers of health department Monday staged protest demonstration against non-payment of their salaries for four months. The protesters blocked Kutchery Road from all sides and raised full slogans against deputy commissioner (DC), Rawalpindi on the occasion.

The protesters also staged ‘sit-in’ in front of deputy commissioner office and demanded their salaries of four months otherwise they will never go back their homes. The local administration, called a heavy contingent of police to disperse protesters. Traffic remained block at the chowk for over two hours due to protest of daily wage workers of health department to draw the attention of the authorities towards their plight.

Majority of employees working in district health department in different cadres have been deprived of their salaries for over four months while several people who helped keep the service operational have also not been paid their salaries for several months. These employees of health department have now decided to stage a protest to draw the attention of the authorities towards their plight.

On the directions of Deputy Commissioner, District Officer (DO) Health and other high ranking officers reached to discuss with protesters. The government officers requested protesters to call off strike but in vain. The protesters were demanding to pay their salaries immediately because they wanted to pay house rent, pay fee of their children and several other expenses.

The Daily Wage President Raja Shahzeb in his address said that over 200 daily wage workers were deprived of salary for four months. How we could survive without salary, he said. He said that we will stage protest demonstration on regular basis if local administration did not pay our salaries, he warned. The higher author has assured to pay our salaries very soon, he said. On the assurance of DC the protesters called off their protest demonstration.