Apex court to ensure regularisation of jobs: LHWs told

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while talking to the representatives of protesting Lady Health Workers (LHWs) on Monday, assured them that the apex court would ensure regularisation of their jobs. Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira, Secretary Information (PPP) also gave the LHWs assurance that the issue of their regularisation would be discussed in Council of Common Interest (CCI), while their pending salaries would be released till March 31.
LHWs were baton charged by police while protesting in front of the Parliament House for regularisation of their jobs. Naseem Khalid, a protesting LHW told this scribe that they had entered the capital from various cities, but were stopped and harassed by the police at check points. However, they somehow managed to reach D-Chowk.
She said Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira had assured them that their issues would be discussed in CCI but she did not trust him at all. "We have called off our protest just on the regularisation assurance given by the Chief Justice", she added. Nearly 25,000 LHWs from across the country had gathered at D-Chowk for regularisation of their jobs and when they tried to cross the barricade, lady police scuffled with them and they were baton charged by the police.
According to them many fell unconscious, four LHWs were wounded while one had suffered heart attack during the scuffle. Nafeesa Sehr, another LHW said that 150,000 LHWs were working for the National Family Planning Programme and Primary Health care. "The employees of the National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care have been providing healthcare facilities to the people for the last 17 years, but their services have not been regularised," she added.
"The employees had protested and staged a sit-in in front of the Parliament House on June 3, 2010 after that the government promised to regularise them within three months but after passage of over one-and-a-half year it still remains a promise", Nafeesa said. She said CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry had taken notice of the issue on July 30, 2010 and directed the government on September 7 the same year to fix the salary of all the staff members up to Rs 7,000 and be given scales according to their duties. Though, the government increased the salaries according the apex court orders but the regularisation issue was still pending, she added.
The representatives of the programme were called by the CJP in the evening and they apprised him that despite the court order and the commitment of the government they are still working on contract basis. On the assurance of the CJP the protesting workers called off their indefinite protest and sit-in.