RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: In Rawalpindi, workers of anti-dengue program have resented over non-provision of allowances and not being given Eid-ul-Azha Holidays while Muharram holidays have now been banned.
According to details, workers of anti-dengue campaign in Rawalpindi protested that neither the Punjab government gave them Eid-ul-Azha Holidays nor they were paid any allowance for working on Eid day.
Workers said that upcoming 9th and 10th Muharram Holidays have also been cancelled; therefore, a sense of dejection has occurred among workers.
Workers of anti-dengue program said that when workers in other Cities particularly in Lahore had resorted to protests over these demands, they were given allowances as well as holidays.
It is pertinent to mention here that more dengue cases have surfaced in Lahore as compared to Rawalpindi where only a few cases were reported.
Workers questioned that if demands of Lahore-based employees could be fulfilled then why they were being persecuted? They demanded the Punjab government to either announce Muharram Holidays for them or pay them allowances.
The Punjab government recruited 2,589 workers in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Multan and Rawalpindi in 2011 under the development scheme. However, these workers haven’t been regularized yet; rather they are not even paid on time.
In January 2014, the Punjab government while transforming the program under the development scheme into non-development mode regularized only 12 people, and left rest of workers empty-handed.
