College teachers to stage sit-in today

Islamabad:The Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) and other government employee associations will stage a peaceful protest and sit-in today (Thursday) in front of Parliament House under the banner of All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA).

The protest organized by AGEGA serve as a reminder to the government of the pressing need to address the growing disparity between inflation and employee salaries, and to provide relief to the struggling families of government employees, according to organisers. College teachers and various government employees have joined forces to demand a 100 percent increase in their salaries.

Chief Coordinator of AGEGA, Rehman Bajwa has called for a united demonstration to voice the concerns of government employees affected by hyperinflation and escalating petrol prices. Dr. Rahima Rehman, President of FGCTA, emphasized that the current inflation rate, standing at approximately 36 percent, is the highest in recent years.

"The staggering inflation coupled with stagnant salaries has severely impacted low-paid government employees, particularly teachers." She also highlighted the urgent need for a substantial salary increase to alleviate the financial strain on the families of government employees. General Secretary of FGCTA Dr. Nazir Ahmed Bhutta underscored that the allowances such as house rent, medical, and conveyance had remained unchanged for many years. He advocated for unfreezing and increasing these allowances to better reflect the current economic conditions faced by government employees.

Senior Vice President of FGCTA Professor Farhan Azam pointed out disparities in salaries between employees of ministries and divisions compared to those in attached departments. He said while officers of ministries and divisions had been granted a 150 percent executive allowance last year and a 20 percent special allowance since 2013, teachers and employees in attached departments had been deprived of these benefits. "The government should equalize the salaries of the deprived government servants with those of their counterparts in ministries and divisions," he said.