Municipal workers start complete strike

Protests for salaries to continue through to Friday

PESHAWAR:

On the call of the United Municipal Workers Union, civic workers will go on a complete strike and protest for an indefinite period, until the payment of salaries and pensions is made. The protest will be led by Chairman Malik Muhammad Naveed Awan and his cabinet colleagues.

In the second phase of the protest, on Tuesday, a rally will be held. In the third phase, on Wednesday, a protest rally will be taken to Assembly Chowk.

After the demonstration, they will return to the Capital Metropolitan Office. In the fourth phase, on Thursday, a rally will be taken out from the Capital Metropolitan Government to Assembly Chowk, where there will be a protest and sit-in. This will continue daily until salaries and pensions are paid.

These views were expressed in a joint press statement by United Municipal Workers Union Chairman Malik Muhammad Naveed Awan, Patron-in-Chief Bilal Ahmed President Ismail Khan, Finance Secretary Khawaja Aftab Ilahi, Vice Chairman Rashid Khan, and others.

They asked the Peshawar mayor and all officers not to come to the offices during the protest, but to go to the finance department to get the funds released. "Any officer sitting in their office will be responsible for their own embarrassment and the consequences," a statement said.

The municipal employees further stated that an institution with billions of rupees in revenue is depriving its employees of their monthly salaries and pensions. "A high-level investigation should be conducted into this conspiracy and corruption to understand why this financial crisis occurred," the government employees resolved.

They expressed deep regret that despite clear instructions from K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to resolve the financial crisis of the Capital Metropolitan Government by issuing a special grant of Rs251 million, the provincial finance department is not willing to comply.

Earlier, a demand for Rs90 million rupees for the expenses of Muharram arrangements is still stuck in the finance department's files. "It is unclear why the finance department is using delaying tactics in releasing the funds, and what the underlying motives are."

They added that the leadership of the United Municipal Workers Union has received unconfirmed reports of wrongdoing from reliable sources, which are not yet suitable for publication. "However, upon confirmation, these reports will be exposed in a press conference with evidence."

The union leaders requested all municipal employees, retired employees, and the families of deceased employees to actively participate in today's protest.

Teachers to lock down schools

Meanwhile, primary schoolteachers, in support of their demand for upgradation, will lock down all primary schools across the province today at 11an and hold protests in front of the Peshawar Press Club and other district press clubs.

During the protest in front of Peshawar Press Club, the All Primary Teachers Association (APTA) will also announce the future course of action for their movement.

The former provincial government, in its last cabinet meeting on January 17, 2023, had approved the upgradation of 139,000 teachers in the province.