An unwelcome welcome : LG employees go on strike next month

Officials boycott duties as councillors to take charge

PESHAWAR: With the local government councillors all set to take charge, employees of administrative affairs at the grass-roots level have decided to throw a spanner in the works by announcing a strike.

They intend to continue with their protest for an indefinite period if the government does not fulfil their demands of an up-gradation. The K-P Local Government Employees Federation (LGEF), which represents the local government employees across the province, has announced its strike from September 1.



The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced August 29 as the oath-taking date for newly appointed members of local councils. At the same time, August 30 was scheduled as Election Day for nazims and naib nazims after which the system will become operational.

LGEF Chairman Shaukat Kiani told The Express Tribune demands have been presented to Minister for LG Inayatullah Khan. The minister formed a sub-committee which held four meetings with the federation and submitted its recommendations to the LG secretary.

“However, we have visited the LG department time and again, but the secretary keeps changing the dates to act on the matter,” said Kiani.

LGEF President Haji Anwar Kamal said the organisation asked for the up-gradation of LG employees without any prejudice. “The government should give a service structure and form an equal organogram,” said Kamal. He added a record clerk in one district can be in Grade-IV at the district level, while someone in a similar position on the tehsil platform would be a Grade VII employee. He stressed this showed there was no proper service structure.

He also demanded the government make contractual employees permanent.

An official of the LG department said these employees were non-provincial unified group functionaries and were appointed in their native districts. “They are not classified in the civil servants’ cadre so the government’s announcements of up-gradation don’t apply to them. They are semi-government employees, ” he added, requesting anonymity. He admitted their strike would affect the functionality of the new system.

When asked about the demands of the employees, K-P LG Special Secretary Asghar Ali refused to comment. “The employees come under the domain of the Local Council Board,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2015.