Government employees hold rally today ahead of budget announcement

Islamabad:Employees from various government departments and ministries will hold demonstration today (Tuesday) in front of the Pak Secretariat and Parliament House here to highlight their demands and concerns ahead of the federal budget announcement.

The call for the demonstration has been given by Rehman Ali Bajwa, Chief Coordinator of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA), which is representing employees from multiple government departments united under a joint platform.

A large number of employees are expected to participate in the rally under the banners of their respective unions and associations. Professor Akram Khan Khosa, President of the Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA), said the purpose of the protest is to draw the government’s attention to the widening gap in salaries between different classes of government servants. “While a privileged class of employees receives higher salaries and special allowances, employees of departments like education, especially teachers, are left behind. This gap needs to be addressed,” he said.

He urged the government to bring the salaries of the deprived employees in line with those of the privileged class of government servants. Fazal-e-Maula, chairman of the Joint Action Committee, demanded the introduction of an education allowance for staff in the education sector.

He also called for a 200% increase in house rent, medical, and conveyance allowances in the budget, stating that these have not been revised in years despite the significant rise in inflation.

Professor Ayesha Kiran, Senior Vice President of Federal Government College Teachers Association, noted that the prices of essential items have risen sharply and stressed the need for an inflation-linked increase in salaries.

Professor Rasheed Khan, president of Central Academic Staff Association of model colleges, pointed out that while many ministries offer exclusive allowances such as executive allowance and transport monetization, employees of the education department are deprived of such benefits. He said any pay raise should follow the recommendations of the Pay and Pension Committee.