Provinces and the Centre are at loggerheads over payment of salaries to Lady Health Workers (LHWs), Lady Health Supervisors (LHSs) and accountants, which according to the Supreme Court judgement on November 3, 2010 has been increased from Rs 3,500 to Rs 7,000 as per the Labour Law.
Officials in Sindh Health Department told Business Recorder that the Centre was insisting upon the provinces to take over National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Healthcare (NPFP&PH). The Centre, showing disability to pay increased salaries as per the apex court judgement, is pressing provinces to pay monthly salaries to LHWs, LHSs and accountants from their accounts, which is not practically possible due to lack of funds, they added.
Officials said the provinces have asked the Ministry of Health (MoH) to provide them with funds to run NPGP&PH, otherwise, they could not take over the programme. The Centre has asked the provinces to approach the finance department for release of funds and if the finance refuses to provide funds, the Centre would arrange funds for itself, they said.
They said the Sindh Health Department has sent a summary to the finance department for allocating Rs 2 billion for taking over national programme from the Centre, but the finance department did not respond positively. The health department had sent the rejected summary with a note of unavailability of funds to federal health department, they said.
They said there are some 23,000 LHWs and 7,000 LHSs working in Sindh under NPFP&PH. As per the SC order, the salaries of LHWs have been increased to Rs 7,000 from Rs 3,500, but if the salaries of health workers increased, the government should also have to increase salaries of lady supervisors as per their grades, they maintained. They said the Centre has reallocated funds for NPFP&PH under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award asking the provinces to generate funds to run the programme. They said the provinces have requested the MoH to transfer the reallocated funding to the provinces, otherwise, provinces would not take over the programme, they added.
They said the MoH should consult the provinces first for increasing salaries of LHWs, LHSs and accountants of NPFP&PH. They said the MoH on November 3 hearing, pledged the apex court that it will increase LHWs salaries, but it's yet to decide the fate of NPFP&PH.
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