Sukkur tax staff strike for special allowance

Employees want the govt to lift the freeze on special allowance, upgrade pay scales.

SUKKUR: Employees of the regional tax office Sukkur continued their pen-down strike for a special allowance for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.

The strike was called by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Employees Union of Pakistan. They demand that the government lift the freeze on the special allowance, upgrade the pay scales of inspectors and take action against the commissioner of income tax in Bahawalpur.

The union’s Ghulam Akbar Chandio said that they receive a special allowance called the inter-job posting allowance, which is 100 per cent of the basic pay and is increased whenever the basic pay is increased. Although the pay scales of government servants were increased by 15 per cent in the budget of 2011-2012, the special allowance was cut off. It should have been increased according to the raise in the basic salary, he said.

Chandio pointed out that while inspectors from other departments are paid according to the grade 16 payscale, FBR inspectors are paid at the grade 14 scale. “My department is collecting 70% of the revenue of the country, but its employees are not treated properly,” he claimed. “Employees in the Pakistan International Airlines and other such corporations are receiving enormous fringe benefits, despite the fact that the national flag carrier is being run in a heavy deficit.”

They alleged that about commissioner of income tax in Bahawalpur transfers union office bearers to far-flung areas when they protest against him. They said their strike will continue for a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2011.