PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved the regularisation of service of about 13,500 lady health workers (LHWs), including their support staff, drivers and clerical staff who had been working on an ad hoc basis for the last several years.

The senior vice president of Lady Health Workers Association (LHWA) Ayesha Khan confirmed that the Peshawar High Court had ordered the regularisation of the LHWs nearly 18 months ago but the decision has finally been implemented now.

Khan said the government’s order is effective from July 1, 2014 and 12,423 LHWs have been given grade 5 of PBS whereas 508 LHWs supervisors have been designated grade 7.

Grade 4 has been given to 390 drivers and grade 7 to 21 account supervisors.

The LHWs in KP have been calling for the regularisation of their services and in recent months also issued an ultimatum threatening the government to boycott the anti-polio and other immunisation campaigns in case the government fails to notify on the matter.

Also read: LHWs threaten to boycott immunisation drive

In case the government failed to do so, representatives of the LHWs in the province said that the would boycott upcoming immunisation drives and called on the government to release their outstanding dues and issue a notification regularising their services.

The recent termination of services of the LHWs provincial president and district president of Charsadda by the government also became a matter of contention.