ICTA seeks water tankers, buses

Bus drivers express concerns at being ignored for honorariums for election duty

ISLAMABAD: As the civil administration gears up for the general elections scheduled to be held later this month, they have demanded the provision of 20 water tankers and 60 college buses with accompanying staff for three days during the elections.

Some district officials, though, have expressed concerns how they will not be paid for the work while other staff, specially engaged for a similar task, will be provided with a stipend.



The Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) has requested the Capital Administration Authority (CDA) to provide them with 20 water tankers.

The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) — under the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) — has been asked to provide 60 buses along with 120 staffers (a driver and conductor for each bus) to the ICTA from July 24 to July 26 so that security and administrative arrangements could be ensured.

The government expects to deploy as many as 11,000 police officers are in the capital during the general elections.

Moreover, around 4,800 teachers — employed by the FDE —have been engaged by the Election Commission of Pakistan to serve as presiding officers, senior assistant presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, and polling officers.

The teachers will be paid a stipend ranging from Rs3,500 to Rs4,500 for performing election duties over three days.

But the drivers and conductors, who are low-grade staffers and will be engaged to work around the clock to pick and drop police and polling staff while ferrying election materials from the office returning officers to polling stations, are not expected to be paid anything extra for their efforts.

Representatives of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the capital have termed this as an invisible exploitation of the staffers during the general elections.



Abdul Rehman Jami, the senior vice president of the non-teaching staff association and a bus driver at a local college, lamented that drivers have been tasked to perform this critical national duty with zeal and zest but when it comes to honorarium there is nothing for them.

Sardar Siddique, the president of the non-teaching staff association, complained that they had raised this issue with the administration on multiple occasions but to no avail.

Professor Tahir Mahmood, a representative of college teacher’s body said, that the exploitation of drivers and conductors during the elections is rampant and something needs to be done.

“When polling staff can be paid for doing their duty, why does this discrimination appear in the case of drivers and conductors?” he asked, adding, “There should be no discrimination and a single policy should be introduced for all employees.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2018.