Engineers accuse govt of ‘retaliatory action’

Threaten lockdown, pen-down strike if ‘illegal actions’ are not stopped

QUETTA: The Engineers Grand Alliance (EGA) has expressed concerns over ‘unlawful’ departmental actions against engineers who staged a protest last month and alleged that the provincial government is transferring senior engineers as a punishment for seeking their rights.

An EGA meeting was held in Quetta on Thursday to decide a future course of action against the provincial government that according to it has resorted to punishing officials who participated in a sit-in.

“The EGA had called off its 23-day protest after successful negotiations with the provincial government but retaliatory action is being taken against engineers who participated in the protest which is unacceptable,” a press statement said.

According to the EGA, show causes notices have been issued to mining engineers. It said Senior Engineer Adil Naseer was transferred from the post of XEN Kharan and a junior was appointed in his place, which, it said, indicates malice of the provincial government.

“Despite the government assurance, notification on our demands is yet to be issued which shows the non-serious attitude of the provincial government toward the EGA’s rightful demands.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2019.