Hundreds of sanitation workers under Punjab's government's "Clean Punjab Programme" have been without salaries for three months, leaving them struggling to survive.
Many workers have had their electricity and gas connections cut due to unpaid bills, while their children have been expelled from schools for non-payment of fees.
As the fasting month of Ramazan continues, the workers say they have been forced to beg to sustain their families.
Protesting in Rawalpindi, they demanded immediate payment of their salaries, warning that if their dues were not cleared before Eid, their celebrations would be ruined, just as their Ramadan has already been.
Sanitation workers Qaiser Jahangir, Khalid, and Ali told The Express Tribune that the government, which promised to clean all cities and villages within a month, has abandoned its own workers.
"We were hired in November 2024 and received only one month's salary. Now, we are drowning in debt," they said.
The workers also claimed that ACs keep delaying their payments.
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