PESHAWAR Feb 14: The health staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which takes care of Afghan refugees, have demanded that their salaries be increased on the pattern of the raise given by the government of Pakistan to its employees.

Addressing a press conference on Monday Dr Jawed Khan Afridi and Sardar Abdul Qayum Gandapur, president and general secretary respectively of the Health Staff Welfare Association said that in spite of serving Afghans in dangerous conditions, they had not been given increase in their salaries since 2002.

They said the UNHCR had assured its health staff of increase in their salaries at the same rate at which the government of Pakistan would give raise to its employees, but after 2002, due to unknown reason, the UNHCR stopped giving increase to the health staff while, at the same time, made huge increases in the salaries of its own staff.

They demanded that, besides increase in salaries, a dearness allowance, as allowed by the government of Pakistan to its employees from time to time after 1994, should also be paid to them.

They said on one hand some staff members of the UNHCR were getting salaries in lakhs and on the other it had deprived some of its health staff members of their basic pay and sacked them of their jobs.

They alleged that a driver of the UNCHR was getting Rs35 thousands while a driver of the health directorate for Afghan refugees was receiving less then 5 thousand per month. They said if the UNHCR was short of funds then it should decrease the salaries of its staff instead of sacking health staff for Afghan refugees. -PPI