PHC summons finance secretary in teachers’ salary case

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday summoned Khyber Pakhtunkhwa secretary for finance and directed him to submit a reply in a writ petition filed against the non-payment of minimum wage to female teachers of the Elementary Education

Foundation.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the writ petition filed by several female teachers.The petitioners said that they were currently working as teachers at the Elementary Education Foundation and had also rented buildings for this purpose.

They said that while the provincial government had enforced the minimum wage law in other departments, but they were not being paid the minimum wage of Rs37,000 per month.The teachers pleaded that their salaries had been withheld for months, causing them difficulties in paying rent and managing household expenses.

During the hearing, the legal advisor for the Elementary Education Foundation, Barrister Ibrahim Afridi, told the court that the provincial government had no objection to paying the minimum wage to the teachers, but the funds for this purpose must be released by the Finance Department. He said it was necessary to seek a response from the Finance Department.After arguments, the court directed the Finance Department to ensure the appearance of the secretary on October 29 to explain why the teachers were not being paid the minimum wage.