Thousands of contract employees of the Population Welfare and Family Planning Department on Wednesday stormed the Civil Secretariat to protest the government’s failure to address their concerns.
They were demanding that the government shelve its plans to merge the department with the Health Department, regularisation of service and a revision of pay scales.
Work remained suspended at the Secretariat for the entire day. Many Secretariat employees were seen standing on rooftops, watching the demonstration.
The six-hour demonstration ended around 3:30 pm after the police baton charged the protesters to force them out. Two women who fainted in the clash were taken to a hospital. About 200 protesters were arrested and detained at several police stations across the city.
Later, the inspector general of Punjab police suspended DSP Iqbal Shah and DIG (Operations) suspended Islampura SHO for failing to control the protesters. An inquiry was also initiated against the Secretariat’s security DSP.
Ahmed Awan, the All Pakistan Clerks Association’s (APCA) population department chapter, had issued a call for the protest. The protesters had started gathering outside Nasser Bagh around 9 am. They remained on Lower Mall for about two hours and then gathered in front of the main gate of the Secretariat.
No senior official met them. According to witnesses, some of them then went up to the gate where a few policemen were standing. The police officials asked them to stay away from the gate and when they didn’t listen, protesters said, they were pushed away. A few protesters said that one of the policemen hit a woman, identified as Aasma. The protesters broke down the gate, entered the Secretariat building and broke the glass panes of the chief secretary’s office’s door and flower pots. Chief Secretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa was not in the office at the time. An official said that they also broke the windscreen of two official vehicles parked at the Ministers’ block.
They then staged a sit-in on the lawns adjacent to the chief secretary’s office. At this point a team of senior officials, led by Additional Chief Secretary Jalal Sikandar Sultan tried to negotiate with the protesters.
Awan, Muhammad Moazzam Khan and Kamran Shah represented the protesting employees. They were assured that the government would address their demands in four days. The protesters, however, refused to disperse.
Leaders of the protesters then started making speeches.
Muhammad Sarwar, president of Layyah district employees, said the Health Department had taken possession of family welfare centres of the Population Welfare Department. “Our workers have no place to go,” he said.
Police baton charged the protesters after they refused to break up.
Commissioner Jawad Rafique, who briefed reporters afterwards, said the government will try and meet the protesters’ demands before the next budget. Rafique denied that the government was considering any proposal for merging the two departments.
Awan, the Population Welfare and Family Planning Association president, said the protest would continue till the acceptance of their demands. Later, the APCA announced that they will “seal government offices across the Punjab for three days” to protest police’s attitude.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2012.
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and the second reason for protest was mergance of population deptt in health deptt
in all other 3 provinces, staff is working on regular basis and with separate entity, but in punjab it was going to merge in health and as result, more than 50 % contract staff would be fired
many are the sole earner of their families
PUNJAB GOVT forced employees to do so no body looked on those high court decisions, petitions for regularisation every one looked at the LAST STEP of the staff
well these employees join this job, bcz there is lack of jobs, whether it is contract job or regular, people join it and govt jobs r usually on regular basis, punjab govt has regularised employees of many deptt, but not population deptt employees
they r protesting, filed suit in high court, cool and calm protest since last many months, but no body was notticing.
even this day, they protested in front of civil secretariat, did weight of 2 hours that some body come out to listen them but even media didnt give any heed
so as last step they did so POLICE MEN DIDNT DIE BY ANY INJURY, HE GOT HEART ATTACK
If all other departments have regularised the services of their contractual employees and only one department doesn't regularise services of their contractual employees without any reason. Then only option left to people is protest and to come on roads. People have right to protest for their rights because silent protests are not successful in our country.
I don't understand one thing. I used to word as a contract employee where it was clearly stipulated that I am not a permanent employee and I joined the job myself after reading the fine print. Why join a job when you know it is contractual and then protest like uneducated good for nothing louts?
what's going on. I thought cm had turned Punjab into heaven on earth? i guess iri survey saying Punjab govt approval rating is 21% seems accurate!