PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Paramedical Association has announced to go on strike in Mardan division on March 10 to force the government to accept its demands.

The decision was taken at a meeting held with Luqman Gul, the vice president of the association, in chair on Sunday, a press release said.

It said that the government was not serious in resolution of the problems faced by paramedics. They would observe complete strike throughout the province from March 29 if their demands were not met.

The meeting expressed concern over the government’s reluctance to announce service structure for paramedics despite the announcement by chief minister in February.

They participants of the meeting said that paramedics were performing services at the government’s hospitals but lacked proper services structure due to which most of them retired in the same grade in which they were employed.

It was a matter of grave concern that administration of Lady Reading Hospital had taken over a hostel built for paramedics, they said, adding the hostel was built on their demand to ensure accommodation of the staff on emergency duties.

They said that they called off strike last month after the government’s assurance about solution of their problems but their colleagues were transferred to far off areas of the province.

“We demand of the government to cancel transfers of the association members, give back hostel to the paramedics and resolve the problems faced by those working in the Peoples’ Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) programme of the health department,” they said.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2016