LG secretaries want old promotion quota restored

MANSEHRA: The secretaries of the Local Governments and Rural Development Department (LG and RDD) on Friday warned the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to revive previous formula of their promotions and that of office assistants or else they would stop working and lock offices across the Hazara Division.

“The provincial government is discriminating with secretaries by decreasing our promotion quota to 20 percent from 40 percent, and enhanced office assistants’ share from existing 10 to 30 percent through a notification which is unacceptable to us,” Misbahullah Khan, the president of the Secretaries Union, told a presser in the Judbah area of Torghar. Flanked by other office bearers of his union, he said the new promotion formula was based on illogical assessments carried out by the LG and RDD Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“If this newly notified promotion formula continues to exist the secretaries of tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils could never be promoted supervisors and assistant directors in their careers and majority of them would retire in basic pay scale 9,” Misbahullah said.

He said secretaries across KP were going to finalise an agitation strategy on Monday and if the provincial secretary and director general of LG and RD department didn’t withdraw the notification which had deprived them of promotion. Misbahullah said secretaries in the first stage of their protest had tied black armbands to lodge their protest. “If our demands are not met and notification issued lessening our promotion percentage is not withdrawn by the government, we would lock our offices for the indefinite period in protest from next week,” Misbahullah said.