Govt employees’ strike enters 11th day

Public depts grapple with increasing work backlog

RAWALPINDI:

The pen-down strike in all provincial institutions of Rawalpindi entered its eleventh consecutive day on Sunday, causing inconvenience to the public.

The strike, led by various employees’ associations is in protest of the denial of leave encashment for those in their final year of service and the shift in pension calculations from the date of retirement to the recruitment grade.

According to sources, staff members continued their demonstration outside their workplaces, causing inconvenience for the public seeking services from various government institutions, including the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (MC), Education Department, Health Department, Building Department, Labour Department, and others.

In the midst of the protest, some government employees were seen watching the cricket match between Pakistan and India.

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The strike's impact was felt across departments, leading to the postponement of tasks like payments of property taxes, building permits, water connections, property transfers, school admissions, and other revenue-related matters. Consequently, the government treasury experienced significant daily losses.

Leaders of the employees' associations, including Raja Javed, Sohail Zafar, Muhammad Arif, and Pastor Shahid Raza, expressed their concern that the Punjab government's policies were financially burdening public servants and that protesters were facing mistreatment. They emphasised the importance of preserving the rights of civil servants, asserting that federal employees were not subject to the same issues regarding leave encashment and pension deductions.

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Conversely, officers from provincial departments in Rawalpindi who were not part of the strike lent their support to the protesting employees, deeming the government's decision to base pension calculations on the recruitment grade as excessive.

They argued that pension calculations had traditionally been based on the grade at the time of retirement, and the right to leave encashment should be upheld according to the laws.

These officers called for immediate action to meet the demands of the workers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2023.