WAZIRABAD/OKARA - At least 18 security guards including three women have been deprived of their salaries for three months at Wazirabad Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital.

According to details, there are 15 male and three female security guards performing duty at the THQ Hospital since the security system has been privatized.

Earlier, they performed duty under direct charge of THQ Hospital medical superintendent and were paid Rs15,500 salary each month as per government pay scale.

After privatization of security system at the hospital, the guards were not being paid salary by the contractor company namely Pacific Security Services Private Limited. The company has not only decreased salary of guards from Rs15,500 to Rs10,000 but also increased there duty timings up to 12 hours a day. The hospital management regularly sends salary cheque of all 18 guards as per 17747 to the contractor company but the guards do not receive salaries. The guards have been performing duty without salary for three months. Eidul Fitr is drawing nearer and they don’t have money to purchase new clothes for their children. There are also reports that some lady doctors, on a self help basis, have decided to give money to the guards in form of Eidi so that they could celebrate Eid festival with their children. The guards demanded that the authorities concerned should ensure payment of their three-month pending salaries before Eid. In Okara, more than 2,000 employees of local bodies including District Council, seven Municipal Committees and 145 Union Councils (UCs) are yet to get their monthly salaries. Union Council secretary Rana Mehboob Ahmed told the media that he had written a reminder/letter to the government of Punjab to release the monthly salaries of the local bodies’ employees.

He said that the authorities should consider the matter seriously and release salaries of the employees at the earliest so that they could celebrate Eidul Fitr with their children in a befitting manner.