Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has approved regularisation of services of 105,086 lady health workers (LHWs), including their supporting staff working in the provinces, Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata), Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The prime minister has also approved the concurrence of the federal government to reimburse the entire financial impact of this measure to the provinces, including arrears. He has 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 Interest for consideration and approval by the next National Finance Commission.

The PM has approved the federal government’s financing for pension on 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.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, at his meeting on January 3 with a delegation of LHWs, had promised to accept their longstanding demand for regularisation of their services. The provincial governments were reluctant to regularise their jobs, primarily due to involvement of huge funds. The prime minister said the lady health workers programme was had been initiated by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto under the National Programme for Family and Primary Health Care.

Applauding the role of LHWs, the prime minister said the regularisation of their services would have a strategic impact on the programme of health care in the country with specific emphasis on child and mother care. The PM reaffirmed the commitment of the PPP-led coalition government to regularise contractual employees to provide secure working environment to them.