Sir: Whenever a democratic dispensation is in place, people feel their concerns will be listened to and their demands will somehow be met. It was primarily because of this assumption that hundreds of Lady Health Workers (LHW) came out to protest in order to press for their just demands for the payment of salaries, which have not been paid consecutively for four months.
They also demanded the regularisation of their service structure, which is a right of these long-serving government employees. It was on March 23, 2011 that the unheard and disappointed LHWs observed a hunger strike at Mari, a small village situated along the National Highway. The hallmark of the day was the remembrance of the ‘Pakistan Resolution’ back in 1940, which aimed at the creation of a welfare state for the Muslims of the subcontinent. It is an indisputable fact that a welfare state can never behave so inhumanly towards a weaker segment of its society. The police fired tear gas and baton-charged the LHWs as well as Miss Marvi Memon, an honourable parliamentarian, who was courageous enough to face all odds in support of the agitating health workers.
The appointment of LHWs was made under the ‘National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health’ initiated by none other than Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto back in 1994. As many as 112, 000 LHWs are working across the country with about 25,000 of them providing primary health care in Sindh. The government has stated time and again that it is against the policy of ad hoc employment and we have also seen some historic employee-friendly measures of this government such as the repeal of the notorious ‘Removal from Service Ordinance’ and reinstatement of all the sacked employees. LHWs should not be an exception in this regard.
Finally, I request the honourable president and prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to direct the authorities concerned to take immediate steps for the redress of the just demands of these LHWs.
KASHIF ALI RAJPER
Islamabad