Alarm bells: Unpaid firemen to organise rally today

The city has not paid them for four months.


Our Correspondent February 09, 2012

KARACHI:


Two bells from the time of the British rang for a whole one minute at the fire brigade headquarters in Saddar on Wednesday. But they were not summoning the firefighters for an emergency this time. They were signalling that a protest against their unpaid salaries had begun.


“We will continue to work, a strike is out of the question,” said one of the firemen, Zafar Ahmed. “We will perform our duty, but not wear our uniforms.” He took this opportunity to add the complaint that even their uniforms were four years old.

He was backed by more than 50 firefighters, some of who complained that they had been paid erratically since 2010. “Every time we go to our superiors, they give the same excuse that there isn’t enough money,” said Ahmed. The average salary of a firefighter is Rs15,000.

But more than the salaries, it has been a delay in the payment of their overtime allowances that has become the last straw. “Unlike other government jobs, we work for twelve hours and hence, we are entitled to a four-hour allowance,” explained fireman Feroze Khan, who is on duty from 8 am to 8 pm.

It is estimated that the 1,500 firefighters in 22 stations across Karachi have not been paid overtime since November 2011. “There is a serious cash-flow problem at the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), but the fire brigade should be the government’s top priority,” said chief fire officer, Ehtisham Siddiqui. According to officials, the estimated amount that the city owes the firefighters comes to Rs50 million.

This is not the only department whose staff have complained and gone on to protest. Doctors and paramedical staff at city-run hospitals have also been waiting for their paychecks.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2012.

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