August 30, 2008	Saturday	Sha'aban 27, 1429

MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 29: More than a 100 lady health workers staged a demonstration here on Friday, warning that if the federal government did not address their concerns within two weeks they would go on a complete strike.

The demonstrators, employed under the Prime Minister's National Programme for Population Welfare and Primary Healthcare initiated in 1994, regretted that while they would be at the forefront of almost all health awareness related campaigns, their own plight and problems were being overlooked by the government.

“Through this peaceful protest we want to draw the attention of the federal government to sympathetically look into our plight and address our concerns or else we will have no option but to go on strike,” said Salma Gillani, spokesperson for the demonstrators.

She said the lady health workers were being paid only Rs2,900 per month which mocked the announcement of the government that minimum monthly wages of a worker would be Rs4,000.

The federal government should raise the salary of LHWs to Rs6,000 to help them make both ends meet, she said.

Similarly, she pointed out, the salary of lady health supervisors was only 4,600 notwithstanding the nature of their duty which involved field visits against a meagre allocation of 70 litres fuel per month.

Mostly the supervisors are compelled to meet the fuel costs from their pocket, she said, demanding enhancement of the salary of LHS to Rs12,000 per month.