AWP for payment of Rs20,000 to 15m people

LAHORE: The Awami Workers Party (AWP) has said the government’s economic relief package to deal with the Coronavirus crisis impact on working class is positive initiative in the right direction. However, it is insufficient to address the enormity of the challenge facing the country today.

In a joint statement, the AWP president Yousuf Mustikhan, general secretary Akhtar Hussain, deputy secretary Ismat Shahjehan, Sindh chapter president Dr Bakhshal Thalhu, KP president Haider Zaman and Punjab president Ammar Rashid said there is a need for new social contract between state and the people and reprioritising of concepts about security and development to come out of this crisis.

They said an increase of Rs1,000 in the BISP stipend for regular beneficiaries to Rs3,000 a month, and emergency relief payments of Rs12,000 to 10 million households is not enough to offset the economic burden on the working class and the poor.

The working class households need more than a one-off payment of Rs12,000, and a comprehensive economic relief and the package must take into account both the immediate needs of the most vulnerable and long-term transformation of economy to serve working people, they said.

“AWP believes the scale of this crisis, in which 12 to 15 million workers are likely to lose their livelihoods, requires a response on the same scale,” the statement read.

The AWP leaders demanded a basic payment of Rs20,000 to the poorest 15 million households for a period of three months to enable workers in these families to stay at home to protect themselves and those around them from the virus and afford basic necessities at the same time.

The AWP leaders called for immediate redistributive measures, including a 10 to 20 percent cut in salaries of Grade-19 and above officers, with greater cuts for the highest grades. The economic package offers Rs200 billion in relief to construction sector and exporters without specifying any conditions for the use of this money.