KP govt employees protest against pension reforms

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government employees from across the province on Wednesday staged a well-attended protest and sit-in outside the KP Assembly on Wednesday against pension reforms.

The protest was staged on the call of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A large number of government employees, including women, participated in the demonstration, chanting slogans against the government.

A heavy police deployment was made at the KP Assembly Chowk. The cops were equipped with batons and teargas shells, while water cannons and armoured personnel vehicles were present to tackle any untoward incident.

The protest was led by Wazir Zada, Samiullah Khalil and Asif Afridi. Other leaders, including Niaz Ali Khattak, Muhammad Usman, Malik Naveed Ahmad Awan, Azizullah Khan, Zulfiqar Ahmad, Nasiruddin, Afsar Khan Kheshgi, Naveed Gul Hazarkhwani and Hameed Afridi, were present as well.

The demonstration caused traffic jams in different parts of the city. The Khyber Road was blocked for traffic, resulting in gridlock on nearby GT Road and other arteries in the city, causing inconvenience to commuters. Later, talks were held between government representatives and employee leaders but they failed to reach an agreement.

The employees’ association announced a province-wide strike and lockout of government offices today (Thursday), with protests scheduled outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly at 11 am.

During the protest, the employees’ representatives reiterated their demands, which included taking back the pension reforms, opposing the CP Fund Policy, halting the privatisation of government institutions, restoring allowances cut in 2011 and 2015, and reinstating the quota for children of government employees who passed away during service.

The speakers said that pension reforms and the CP Fund Policy were meant to deceive the government employees. They criticised the KP government for its silence on their charter of demands submitted earlier.

Following failed negotiations with Finance Adviser Muzzammil Aslam, employee representatives said the government intended to introduce further pension cuts, with no positive response received during the talks.

They announced to continue the protest and hold another meeting to decide a future course of action.The protesters dispersed peacefully after announcing a temporary suspension of the protest, reopening Khyber Road to traffic. Demonstrations and strikes were expected to continue today across the province.