Contract government employees protest, demand regularisation

Threaten to protest in Lahore if promises made before polls are not fulfilled.

MULTAN: Hundreds of contract employees working in various government departments took out a rally on Sunday to protest against the government for not regularising their services.

Around 1,000 employees and civil society activists marched to the Multan Press Club. They raised slogans against the provincial government for not fulfilling its promise of regularising their services. They claimed Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had announced in March 2013 to regularise all contractual employees.

Addressing the rally participants, Civil Society Network South Punjab Tariq Naeemullah said the future of 150,000 contract employees had been hanging in the balance since 2013. “Ahead of the 2013 elections, the Punjab government had promised to regularise all contract employees. However, nothing has been done so far,” he said.

Naeemullah urged the government to meet the demands of the contract employees. “If their demands are not met, these contract employees will join the anti-government protests planned for August,” he said. Naeemullah said employees of 21 unions from various government departments planned to take out a protest rally in Lahore. “Over 50,000 employees from all over the Punjab are expected to take part in the rally in Lahore,” he said.

Employees from 16 government departments, including pharmacy and education, took part in Sunday’s protest. They carried placards and banners inscribed with slogans against the Punjab government and in support of their demands. They appealed to the Supreme Court chief justice to take notice of the injustice to them. The protesters said that regularisation would increase the efficiency and output of the government employees.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2014.