CADD: Daily-wagers assured of salaries, regularisation

Many teaching, non-teaching staffers in FDE have not been paid for months

ISLAMABAD:

Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Minister Barrister Usman Ibrahim has said that the salaries of daily-wagers including teaching and non-teaching staff will be released next week.

Hundreds of daily-wagers including teachers have been serving in 20 model colleges and 11 federal government colleges and schools for the past three years, but their salaries have been withheld for the last few months “without explanation”.

A group of aggrieved teachers from model colleges held several meetings with the minister in the last two weeks to demand the release of their salaries and regularisation of jobs. The minister on Thursday assured them that their salaries will be released soon and they will be hired against vacant positions to ensure meritocracy.

Many teachers’ hope of regularisation were dashed last month after dozens of new teachers were hired against vacant positions in different colleges.

Ihsan Bangash, a daily-wage teacher from the Islamabad Model College for Boys F-8/4, said that they hope that the minister will keep the promise.

The minister also directed CADD’s additional and joint secretaries to prepare a summary to regularise daily-wagers who have undergone medical tests.

The minister assured the teachers that no further hiring would be made until daily-wagers were given the opportunity to be inducted, said one of the teachers who met the minister. According to CADD figures, approximately 1,800 daily-wagers are working in model and federal colleges and schools.

A summary for the regularisation of those daily-wagers who have undergone medical test would be forwarded to the finance ministry for approval.

Meanwhile, the minister has asked the Establishment Division to form a committee to look into whether daily-wagers could be regularised if they failed to clear medical tests.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2014.