Islamabad:Government employees from various government departments, divisions and ministries staged a protest in front of the Finance Division’s ‘Q’ Block on Wednesday, demanding the acceptance of their salary and allowance-related demands. The protest was organised by the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA), with notable participation from the Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA).
Protesters held banners and placards bearing slogans that highlighted their demands for increase in salary and allowances. Dr. Rahima Rehman, president of FGCTA, emphasised the significant disparity in salaries among government employees. She pointed out that out of the 1.4 million federal employees, 1.1 million receive 100 per cent to 150 per cent higher salaries than their counterparts. “The salaries of deprived government servants should be brought at par with the privileged class of government servants,” Dr. Rahima asserted.
Professor Farhan Azam called for a 200 per cent increase in house rent allowance, medical allowance, and conveyance allowance. He urged the government to implement salary increases as recommended by the pay and pension committee. Professor Tahir Bhatti while addressing the gathering highlighted the rising cost of living, stating, “Prices of daily use items are skyrocketing. There should be an inflation-matched increase in the salaries of government servants.” Rehman Bajwa, the chief coordinator of AGEGA, addressed the gathering, stating that the proposed pension reforms should not affect current employees. “If necessary, these pension reforms should apply only to new employees from the next fiscal year.” He also encouraged the protestors to reconvene a day before the announcement of the annual budget to ensure their demands are considered.