Expanding strike: Revenue staff demand scale upgrades

Stage protest outside K-P assembly, warn of putting up camps outside Imran’s Bani Gala residence

PESHAWAR: The staff of the revenue department extended their strike to the provincial capital on Friday where hundreds of revenue staffers (patwaris) staged a protest outside the provincial assembly.

Revenue department staffers, including Patwaris — who have been much maligned by the chief of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan for their alleged role in purveying corruption, Qanungos and Girdawars are on strike for past two weeks bringing land transfer and other revenue activities to a grinding halt.

The staff are demanding promotion in their basic pay scales (BPS) along with the provision of perks and privileges from the government. These include the upgrade of patwaris to BPS-15, Naib Tehsildars to BPS-16 and Tehsildars to BPS-17. Moreover, they want an increase in their stationary allowance and a 15 per cent share in revenue taxes as commission.

On Friday protesters criticised the K-P government for turning a cold-shoulder towards their genuine demands.

They warned that if their demands were not fulfilled by the provincial government, then they would march towards the federal capital and, as has been the method adopted by government staff in other cadres such as school and university teachers, will set-up protest camps outside the palatial residence of PTI chairman Imran in Bani Gala.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2018.