Health volunteers demand permanent appointment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 April 2003, 17:11 GMT]
Hundreds of health volunteers in Jaffna district Wednesday launched a picketing campaign in front of the regional health department office demanding that they should be made permanent by filling the minor grade vacancies in health institutions, sources said.

The administration of the regional health office came to a standstill Wednesday when picketers prevented officials and employees from entering the office, sources said.

Provincial health authorities routinely recruit health volunteers to upgrade health facilities in rural and urban areas in the peninsula.

About 717 health volunteers now work in the Jaffna peninsula without permanent appointments, many for the last twelve years, said a spokesman for the picketers.

The picketing started at seven in the morning concluded at about four in the evening with the announcement that it would continue tomorrow (Thursday), sources said.

A spokesman for the picketing health volunteers said all attempts made in the past to fulfill their demand resulted in failure. "As a last resort we have launched the picketing campaign to win our demand," said the spokesman.