Daily-wage teachers hold protest in front of FDE

NON-PAYMENT OF SALARY, NON-REGULARISATION

Islamabad

As the daily-wage teachers of Islamabad’s government schools and colleges converged outside the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) main offices in G-9/4 on Monday morning to protest non-payment of salary and non-regularisation of services, the opposition’s current and former lawmakers turned up to show solidarity with them.

Noted among them were current PTI MNA from Islamabad Asad Umar and former Jamaat-i-Islami MNA Mian Muhammad Aslam.

They said they stood by daily wagers in their struggle for payment of salary and permanent jobs and would raise the matter at all available forums for necessary action by the relevant authorities. Asad Umar demanded the resignation of the CADD minister, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, for failing to end the misery of FDE daily-wage employees despite repeated promises. He said he would raise voice for the rights of protesters in parliament.

Mian Muhammad Aslam said the daily wagers were in distress over denial of rights and therefore, the authorities should meet their demands without delay. He said his party would go to every extent in the support of daily wagers.

Holding placards and shouting slogans, the protesters both men and women blocked the main roads in front of the FDE main offices causing traffic mess for some time. They said they would take all possible measures to claim rights.

These daily wagers kept themselves first from classes and then from campuses against denial of permanent jobs for serving in FDE schools and colleges for as long as eight years as well as non-payment of salary for the last four months.

The Young Teachers Association announced the call for the protest. The FDE overseen by the Capital Administration and Development Division has more than 2,000 daily-wage staff members, both teaching and non-teaching, at its educational institutions in the capital. They’ve been employed by the FDE for around eight years.

Of late, the PM’s office rejected the CADD’s summary suggesting the Federal Public Service Commission interview for the daily wagers working in BPS-16 and above and interview by a departmental committee for those working in BPS-15 and below, and ordered the filling of the BPS-16 and BPS-17 permanent positions eyed by daily wagers through ‘open competition’ i.e. written test by the FPSC.