News
Monday, January 21, 2013
PM okays service regularisation of 105,086 LHWs* Step to take retrospective effect from July 1, 2012
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Sunday approved the regularisation of services of 105,086 lady health workers (LHWs), including their supporting staff, presently serving in the four provinces, federally administered areas, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan with retrospective effect from July 1, 2012.
The prime minister has also approved reimbursement of the entire financial impact of this measure to the provinces, including arrears. He also approved a proposal to put up the issue of federal financing of the programme beyond 2015 before the forthcoming meeting of Council of Common Interests for consideration and approval in the next National Finance Commission. Raja also approved the federal government’s financing of the pensionary liabilities due to the retirement of these employees up to the period of financing by the federal government, however the provincial governments will pay pension or institute contributory pension funds from their own resources for these regular employees, as per the prevalent provincial laws and rules.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Raja in his meeting on January 3 with a delegation of LHWs promised to accept their longstanding demand for regularisation of their services .The provincial governments had been reluctant to regularise their services primarily due to involvement of huge financial costs. The prime minister said that the LHWs programme was conceived and initiated by Benazir Bhutto under the National Programme for Family and Primary Health Care.
Applauding the role of LHWs, the premier said that the regularisation of their services will have a strategic impact on the outreach programme of healthcare in the country with specific emphasis on child and mother care. He reaffirmed the commitment of the PPP-led coalition government to regularise the contractual employees to provide them a secure working environment and utilize their abilities for the welfare of the people of the country.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk