Students stranded as strike by FDE bus staff escalates

Directorate official says talks have been held with protesting workers

ISLAMABAD: Drivers and conductors of buses working at educational institutions in the federal capital have stopped working over non-payment of salaries for nearly a year. The wheel-jam strike has created difficulties for students, many of whom who rely on the buses to travel to and from schools and colleges in the city, to wait by the roadside.

Instead of addressing their issues, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has decided to terminate services of all drivers and conductors participating in the strike.

Staff hired for the first cohort of 50 buses introduced under the Prime Minister’s Education Reforms programme have been on strike for the past four days asking for payment of their salaries which have been pending for 11 months now. On the fourth day, the number of buses which did not leave the garage rose to 70, stranding a large number of students.

Even as sources said that the FDE has decided to terminate drivers and conductors who are on strike, acting FDE Director General Syed Umair Javed said that he was negotiating with the striking staffers. He maintained that the contract signed with them had expired in February 2018 and as such, they were not supposed to continue their service.

The organization which hired the staff should present the record of salaries, he said, adding that the directorate did not need to continue with the service and that the staff should consider itself as relieved. However, it was the discretion of the institutions’ heads to continue their service.

The drivers and conductors who are on strike, however, maintained that the directorate did not inform them about the expiry of the contract in advance and now the claim cannot be accepted.

According to Faisal, a driver on strike, the staff would challenge the FDE’s decision in the court.

Sources say that the government has not allocated any funds on account of fuel or maintenance for the buses provided under the PM’s Educational Reforms programme.

Meanwhile, a summary for the appointment of staff for the 200 buses provided under the special programme has been sent to the Education Ministry but has yet to be approved.