Teachers ready for sit-in outside Parliament

Govt employees, pensioners, labourers threaten to protest over unmet demands as well

RAWALPINDI:

The teaching and non-teaching staff across Punjab have completed preparations to stage a sit-in outside Parliament House on February 10 (Wednesday), a spokesperson shared on Saturday. According to details, all educational offices and institutions would be shut down from Wednesday, they threatened.

It was learnt that teachers, clerks, and Grade-IV employees have started reaching Rawalpindi and to avert possible arrests, many of them have gone into hiding. It was stated that they will stay in schools and government offices until protest day.

Meanwhile, the city administration and police say that they have not received any orders to book the teaching and the non-teaching staff neither have they been instructed to stop the protesters.

Teachers’ organisation leaders, including Shehzad Kiyani, Chaudhry Mubashir, Sardar Hanif, Jamil Awaan and others told The Express Tribune that teaching and non-teaching staff would assemble outside the education office near Committee Chowk at 11 am.

From there, the protesters would leave for Islamabad where they plan to stage a sit-in outside the Parliament House, demanding a 150 per cent increase in salaries. They added that all contractual educators should be regularised along with filling of all vacant seats.

The leaders further announced that they would continue their sit-in until the demands were not met.

Another wave on Feb 17

Meanwhile, disappointed with the government's dialogue team, All Pakistan Employees, Pensioners and Labour Movement (APEPLM) has decided to stage a protest outside the Parliament House on February 17, APEPLM Leader Muhammad Aslam said chairing a meeting of the Rahbar Committee on Sunday.

Addressing the media after convening the meeting, Aslam claimed that the government’s dialogue team was not ready to take matters forward and fulfill promises made after a sit-in on October 14. He alleged that the government’s team was stalling and imposing a divisive policy.

He remarked that instead of giving rights to the employees, the government is prioritising the needs of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF). He added that privatisation of key institutions such as Water and Power Development Authority, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited, Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan International Airlines, Railways, Steel Mills, public hospitals, and other institutions was tantamount to the enslavement of IMF.

He further announced that if the government would not meet their demands before February 17, the government officials, pensioners, and labourers would march towards Islamabad.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2021.