PESHAWAR: The workers of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) on Thursday staged a protest demonstration against the provincial health department and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) for not paying salaries to them for the past several months.

The protesting health workers threatened to observe a complete strike if the authorities concerned didn`t pay them salaries within three days.

Holding placards and banners inscri-bed with demands for early release of their salaries, the protesters gathered outside Peshawar Press Club and chanted slogans against the officials of health department.

Talking to journalists on the occasion, EPI Employees Association provincial president Malik Qamar said that their salaries had been withheld for the last six months. He said that they were facing serious financial problems owing to nonpayment of their salaries.

`We are performing our duty regularly but the officials concerned of health department and GAVI project have kept us deprived of our salaries for unknown reasons,` he said.

Mr Qamar said that they had held meetings with relevant officials including EPI deputy director, special secretary health and district health officer(DHO) to inform them regarding the issues being faced by the EPI employees but to no avail. He added that they had held protest demonstrations time and again but the officials concerned did not take notice of their problems.

Theleaderofthe protesters said that they performed duty despite risk of terrorist attacks and worse law and order situation. `The health workers and polio teams perform their duty on daily basis. Hundreds of children are administered vaccines but instead of recognising our services, we are deprived of our salaries. It is injustice,` he added.

Mr Qamar said that they would lock all the basic health units and stage protest sit-in outside Chief Minister`s House if their salaries were not released within three days. He said that the sit-in would continue till acceptance of their demands.