I BELONG to a lower middle-class family and have six siblings. My father, who is a primary school teacher, has to bear all the expenses of the family. As he is the only breadwinner, it sometimes becomes difficult for us to meet the daily expenses.

However, we had reasons to look forward to a better life when my younger brother, Dr Salahuddin, after graduating from Khairpur Medical College (KMC), started his house job at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Hyderabad with the permission of the Sindh health secretary. His house job was a ray of hope for our family, for we expected that our hard days would soon be behind us with an additional source of income.

But, to our disappointment, KMC officials not only refused to accept the order of the health secretary, but also categorically refused to release the salary. My brother performed his duties with full dedication, working for straight 36-48 hours. He performed his duties even when the coronavirus disease (Covid) was at its peak.

He served hundreds of Covid patients by putting his life at risk. The government gave risk allowance to all health-sector employees, but my brother did not receive a single penny of his salary, leave alone any allowance, even after working for a whole year.

Currently, the Sindh ombudsman’s regional office in Hyderabad is looking into the matter, but, unfortunately, we are yet to get justice and my brother’s case has been pending for the last many months.

The government should look into the matter so that we may get some relief in these tough times when inflation has made lives miserable.

Aisha
Dadu

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022