Waiting for months: Ignored, daily wagers forced out on streets
Some daily wage employees get paid less than the minimum wage set by the government.
The protesting employees said regularisation of daily wage employees has occurred in other government institutions but IMSC employees have been neglected so far. PHOTO: Express/Zafar Aslam
ISLAMABAD:
Wasim Riaz teaches science subjects to matriculation and FSc students at the Islamabad Model College for Boys, G-10/4. He has a Master’s degree in Physics — a requirement for the job of a government science teacher — from the Quaid-i-Azam University.
But for his qualification and the hours he puts in as a teacher, Riaz is only paid a paltry Rs9000 per month.
This is because he is a “daily wage” employee, not a permanent staffer.
Riaz is also one of over 900 employees — both teachers and nonteaching staff — of the Islamabad Model Schools and Colleges (IMSC) who are waiting for regularisation orders for almost five months now.
In a meeting in September 2012, the cabinet committee on regularisation — headed by Khursheed Shah, federal minister for religious affairs —- had approved the regularisation of the daily wage employees of the IMSC. The minutes of the meeting have also been approved, according to the daily wage employees.
What remains is a notification order from the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development (CAD) to implement the committee’s recommendation. The FDE looks after educational facilities in the Islamabad Capital Territory. After the 18th amendment, it started working as a department of the post-devolution Capital Administration and Development Division.
On Thursday, around 50 daily wage employees including Riaz staged a protest in front of the National Press Club, demanding the immediate regularisation in accordance with the committee’s recommendation.
The regularisation will improve the pay and benefits of the employees: the salaries of permanent employees are almost double that of daily wagers.
The protesting employees said regularisation of daily wage employees has occurred in other government institutions but IMSC employees have been neglected so far. They appealed to the president, prime minister and chairman cabinet committee for regularisation to intervene and resolve the issue.
Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, a nonteaching staff member at the Islamabad Model College for Girls in F-6, said the action committee of the daily wage employees has reminded the CAD and FDE about the regularisation four times in the past. But so far nothing has been done, he said.
On the other hand, CAD Secretary Riffat Shaheen Qazi said CAD had OK’d the regularisation recommendation recently and sent it to the FDE.
“The FDE will pass the notification for regularisation depending on the availability of seats,” Qazi said.
FDE officials did not respond to repeated attempts to contact them to inquire about the delay in regularisation.
Abbasi said some of the colleges are paying monthly salaries as low as Rs5,500 to Rs7,000 to some of the nonteaching employees, such as those in BPS-1 to BPS-4. These salaries are below the government’s fixed minimum wage of Rs8,000.
“How can the daily wage employees support a household with this low pay,” he said. “It is almost impossible. You cannot rent a room for Rs7,000.”
Qazi said she was not aware of any colleges paying below minimum wage.
“This issue needs to be reported to the ministry by the employees before the ministry can take some action,” she said.
Another nonteaching staff member present at the protest, Muhammad Aftab Abbasi, alleged that new contractual employees are being hired to fill the vacant posts instead of regularising the daily wage employees to those positions. But Qazi denied this allegation and said the daily wage employees will be given priority over new recruits.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.
Wasim Riaz teaches science subjects to matriculation and FSc students at the Islamabad Model College for Boys, G-10/4. He has a Master’s degree in Physics — a requirement for the job of a government science teacher — from the Quaid-i-Azam University.
But for his qualification and the hours he puts in as a teacher, Riaz is only paid a paltry Rs9000 per month.
This is because he is a “daily wage” employee, not a permanent staffer.
Riaz is also one of over 900 employees — both teachers and nonteaching staff — of the Islamabad Model Schools and Colleges (IMSC) who are waiting for regularisation orders for almost five months now.
In a meeting in September 2012, the cabinet committee on regularisation — headed by Khursheed Shah, federal minister for religious affairs —- had approved the regularisation of the daily wage employees of the IMSC. The minutes of the meeting have also been approved, according to the daily wage employees.
What remains is a notification order from the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development (CAD) to implement the committee’s recommendation. The FDE looks after educational facilities in the Islamabad Capital Territory. After the 18th amendment, it started working as a department of the post-devolution Capital Administration and Development Division.
On Thursday, around 50 daily wage employees including Riaz staged a protest in front of the National Press Club, demanding the immediate regularisation in accordance with the committee’s recommendation.
The regularisation will improve the pay and benefits of the employees: the salaries of permanent employees are almost double that of daily wagers.
The protesting employees said regularisation of daily wage employees has occurred in other government institutions but IMSC employees have been neglected so far. They appealed to the president, prime minister and chairman cabinet committee for regularisation to intervene and resolve the issue.
Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, a nonteaching staff member at the Islamabad Model College for Girls in F-6, said the action committee of the daily wage employees has reminded the CAD and FDE about the regularisation four times in the past. But so far nothing has been done, he said.
On the other hand, CAD Secretary Riffat Shaheen Qazi said CAD had OK’d the regularisation recommendation recently and sent it to the FDE.
“The FDE will pass the notification for regularisation depending on the availability of seats,” Qazi said.
FDE officials did not respond to repeated attempts to contact them to inquire about the delay in regularisation.
Abbasi said some of the colleges are paying monthly salaries as low as Rs5,500 to Rs7,000 to some of the nonteaching employees, such as those in BPS-1 to BPS-4. These salaries are below the government’s fixed minimum wage of Rs8,000.
“How can the daily wage employees support a household with this low pay,” he said. “It is almost impossible. You cannot rent a room for Rs7,000.”
Qazi said she was not aware of any colleges paying below minimum wage.
“This issue needs to be reported to the ministry by the employees before the ministry can take some action,” she said.
Another nonteaching staff member present at the protest, Muhammad Aftab Abbasi, alleged that new contractual employees are being hired to fill the vacant posts instead of regularising the daily wage employees to those positions. But Qazi denied this allegation and said the daily wage employees will be given priority over new recruits.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013.