Non-regularisation: FDE daily-wagers cause ruckus outside CADD

Chant slogans, demanding regularisation of jobs, release of salaries.

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of daily-wagers from federal education institutes caused a ruckus on Monday outside the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), demanding regularisation of their jobs and the release of their salaries.

Around 1,800 teaching and non-teaching daily-wagers from Islamabad schools and colleges including federal and model colleges have been demanding regularisation for months. CADD has consistently replied that only eligible staffers will be considered for regularisation.

The situation turned ugly on Monday, when over 30 daily wagers stormed the CADD building and began demanding a clear-cut decision about their job status. CADD officials including Minister Usman Ibrahim, however, made no firm commitments in response to their demands.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim said in a press release that all eligible candidates who have cleared the medical test and interviews would be regularised after CADD gets approval from the Establishment and Cabinet divisions.

He said that there was a set procedure and criteria to regularise daily-wagers, starting with approval from CADD and followed by approval from the Establishment and the Cabinet divisions.

The minister said that the Islamabad High Court has already ordered to form a committee comprising the Establishment and Cabinet secretaries to resolve the daily-wagers’ regularisation issue. “The regularisation issue would be resolved accordingly,” said the minister.

Some daily-wagers’ salaries have also been withheld by the Accountant General of Pakistan, which termed them ‘non-government servants’.

Later, a group of aggrieved daily-wagers from model and FG colleges also met Additional Secretary Qaiser Majeed, who is also holds the portfolio of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) director-general, to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, a group of daily-wagers and other staff staged a sit-in outside the FDE building, bringing administrative activities at the directorate to a standstill. They also blocked a road connecting Kashmir Highway with Sector G-9, causing traffic jams on adjacent roads.

They also demanded implementation of the time-scale formula and clearing pending promotions.

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