Punjab government employees announce strike for indefinite period

Rawalpindi: Punjab government employees have announced strike for an indefinite period till acceptance of their genuine demands. All doors of government departments remained closed yet again due to pen-down strike of employees here on Tuesday.

Hundreds of government employees besieged Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Offices against discrimination in salaries and pensions. The Punjab government employees demanded salaries, pension and other benefits at par with federal government employees. The protesters gathered in offices of Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR), Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Offices raised full throated slogans against Punjab government and demanded to end discrimination attitude. Punjab Government Employees Welfare Association (PGEWA) General Secretary Shokat Nadeem Bhatti in his press release said that we will continue strike and ‘sit-in’ on daily basis for an indefinite period. Punjab government did not take employees issue seriously, therefore we have decided to continue strike for an indefinite period, he said.

It is worth mentioning here that government employees observed sit-in only once in a week on Tuesday. But now they have decided to observe strike on daily basis for an indefinite period till acceptance of their genuine demands. Public has been facing hell like situation in their routine works and has appealed to Punjab government to resolve this issue immediately.

The angry protesters locked all doors of offices and did not allow any officer to sit on their seats. The senior leadership has decided to stage ‘sit-in’ in front of Parliament House if Punjab government does not accept their genuine demands. The government employees of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR), Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Deputy Commissioner Office and Commissioner Office strongly protested against salaries, leave encashment/pension, etc. The caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsan Naqvi assured to increase salaries of Punjab government employees according to federal government employees but in vain. The chief minister also assured to resolve leave encashment and pension issues but in vain.

A heavy contingent of police officials was also present all around to control the law and order situation. The protest demonstration was led by Punjab Revenue Coordination Council (Rawalpindi) President Abdul Sattar Qureshi, General Secretary Nadeem Bhatti and Prosecution Office Rawalpindi President Muhammad Sajjad. The representatives of other departments were also present on the occasion.

The protesters warned to stop all OPDs in allied hospitals if the Punjab government did not take back the notification issued by the Finance Department, Government of the Punjab that government employees who are set to retire are going to suffer financial loss in the form of leave encashment/pension, and the payments will be made as per the initial rather than the running basic pay of their scales.