EPI technicians warn of boycotting anti-polio drive in KP

PESHAWAR: Technicians of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have warned of boycotting upcoming anti-polio campaign and other vaccination efforts if their salaries were not released and they were not regularised within the next four days.
At a press conference on Monday, All EPI/Gavi Employees Association President Irfanullah said they would hold protest outside the PTI chief’s residence in Islamabad if their demands were not met.
He said despite directives of PTI chief Imran Khan, the provincial Health Department had failed to pay salaries to more than 272 EPI technicians of Gavi (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations) for the last seven months.
Flanked by the association’s chairman Malik Qamar, vice-president Asfandyar, and Sarfaz Durrani, Imran Shah and others, Irfanullah said the provincial government and health authorities did not pay heed to their major demand of service regularisation.
He said the GAVI project would be closed by end of June this year. He criticised the provincial government after accusing it of adopting delaying tactics in acceptance of their demands. The office-bearer complained that the health authorities didn’t pay honorarium to EPI technicians for performing duties during special anti-polio campaign. He said the deduction in salaries from their staff had created unrest among them.
“We demand early payment of seven-month pending salaries and regularisation of services without any delay,” he said. Sarfaraz Durrani said the EPI employees had performed their duties during anti-polio campaigns despite security challenges and receiving threatening letters from militant groups. He claimed that more than 5,000 positions of health technicians were vacant in provincial health department, which needed to be filled.