Budget 2017-18: Educationists ‘insulted’ by meager pay rise

Say the government is playing a cruel joke on them

LAHORE: Schoolteachers, college lecturers and university professors slammed the government’s decision to increase their salaries by just 10% in 2017-18 federal budget. They called it a ‘meager’ increase compared to ‘massive’ inflation.

The schoolteachers’ representative body, The Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU), said the 10% increase was simply enough. In a joint statement, PTU leaders, including Central President Chaudhry Muhammad Sarfaraz, Syed Sajjad Akbar Kazmi, Rana Liaquat Ali, Jan Sadiq and others said the raise was an injustice with government employees.

They added that with increasing prices, the government should reconsider the decision. The statement demanded that the government increase salaries by at least 20% for employees and raise pensions by 30% hike.

The PTU, meanwhile, appreciated the decision to add ad-hoc relief allowance to the basic salary of all public sector employees.

Similarly, in a statement, college teachers’ representative body, Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) Lahore Division President Tauseef Sadiq said the raise in salaries of government servants, with the exception of a few enjoying administrative posts, was peanuts.

He said the government maintained double standards for members of the parliaments and government servants.

“The members got their allowances almost doubled recently, whereas the raise for government servants could be termed as a malicious joke,” he added.

University teachers also expressed similar sentiments towards the pay rise. Federation of the All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) Central President Prof Dr Kaleemullah Barech, General Secretary Dr Shakeel Farooqi and others said only a small increase had been given to government employees in the budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2017.