PESHAWAR
After the provincial health department announced termination of more than 1000 contractual health technicians of the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI), employees held a protest demonstration outside the Peshawar Press Club (PPC).
A large number of EPI technicians participated in the demonstration and demanded renewal of their job contract and release of their pending salaries.
The protesters have carried placards and banners in their hands, on which their demands were written.
Protesters said that the provincial government has inducted thousands of EPI technicians at a number of basic health facilities and other hospitals on contract basis.
They added that the contract EPI technicians performed their duties in the coronavirus pandemic but soon after their one year contracts were completed they were terminated and without extending their services.
“We have been promised by Director General (DG) Health Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that our contract would be extended and pending salaries to be issued as early as possible,” they added.
“Thousands of EPIs were recruited on contract basis on merit and rendered full service for one year and performed duties on the front line during the Covid-19 epidemic while some of our colleagues were also affected by the virus. The provincial government did not pay their salaries and issued orders of their service termination, they lamented.
Ahmad Ali, a representative of the EPI said that the provincial health department has fired around 1000 health technicians from their jobs in KP.
He said a number of them have not been paid their salaries, adding that the government should reinstate the services of those terminated and also pay their due salaries.
The protesters criticized the provincial health department policy for the EPI technicians and demanded the government to withdraw their termination orders.
