Rawalpindi hospital guards protest over four months of unpaid wages

RAWALPINDI: Security guards deployed at government hospitals in Rawalpindi staged a protest on Tuesday against the non-payment of their salaries, blocking Murree Road and causing major traffic disruption.

The protesting guards said security arrangements at allied hospitals had been outsourced to a private company. According to the guards, the company receives Rs45,000 per guard each month from the government, while each guard is paid Rs25,000, and even that amount is not released on time.

They said they had not received salaries for the past four months and that the delay had made it increasingly difficult to manage household expenses amid inflation. During the demonstration, the guards appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take immediate notice of the matter.

The protesters also raised slogans against the owner of the security company, PML-N MPA Ziaullah Shah, holding him responsible for the delay in payment of wages.

Protest disrupts traffic and hospital operations

The sit-in on Murree Road led to severe traffic congestion in the area. The protest also affected hospital operations.

During the protest, a guard identified as Chacha Aurangzeb suffered a heart attack and was shifted to Benazir Bhutto General Hospital. Medical Superintendent Dr Sharjeel Sarfraz Sheikh said his condition later stabilised.

Hospital administration distances itself from salary issue

Hospital administration officials said the protesting guards were employees of the private security company rather than the hospitals themselves. They said payment of the guards’ salaries did not fall under the responsibility of hospital management.

The protest highlighted the guards’ complaints over delayed wages and the gap between the amount they said was paid by the government to the contractor and the amount they actually received.

The demonstration remained focused on the demand for immediate payment of outstanding salaries and official intervention to resolve the issue.