Wages wanted: Agriculture dept employees stage sit-in

GILGIT:

Employees of state-funded projects of the agriculture department staged a sit-in in Gilgit on Thursday against what they called ‘non-payment of salaries’ for the last two years.

The protestors gathered at the gate of the chief secretary’s office and remained there till the Chief Secretary Saifullah Chatha let them in them for negotiations, said a representative of the protestors.

“We apprised the chief minister that more than 200 employees of the agriculture department have been deprived of their salaries for nearly two years,” said Sohail Ahmed, one of the protestors with the delegation. He said that they also told Chatha that their services have not yet been regularised, despite the government’s policy on the matter.

After meeting with the protesting delegation, Chatha met Chief Minister Mehdi Shah, who, Sohail said, “Assured the chief secretary that our issues pertaining to outstanding salary and regularisation of services will be settled soon.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2011.