Daily wage teachers demands SC intervention

Islamabad: The daily-wage teachers of Islamabad’s government schools have appealed to the Supreme Court chief justice to take notice of the registration of a police case against their colleagues for staging a protest on the Kashmir Highway to demand withheld salary and service regularisation.

The Karachi Company police have registered a case against around 20 daily wagers accusing them of disrupting traffic and inconveniencing motorists and commuters by blocking the Kashmir Highway on March 2.

After boycotting classes and exams in their respective schools, scores of teaching and non-teaching staff members of Islamabad’s model and federal government educational institutions have been protesting the prolonged non-payment of salary and non-regularisation of their services for more than two months.

They even tried to block the way of former premier Nawaz Sharif's motorcade outside the Federal Judicial Complex here and demonstrated outside the Federal Directorate of Education offices.

And on March 2, they for being frustrated at the Capital Administration and Development Division not doing anything to meet their demands blocked the Kashmir Highway but the police subjected them to violence and registered an FIR against them.

Ihsan Sikandari of the Young Teachers Association, which represents these daily wagers, declared the police action an injustice meted to the peaceful protesters and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the FIR. He also appealed to the Supreme Court chief justice to step in for their relief.

The YTA leader said it was ironic that the roads were blocked for VVIPs’ movement for long hours but when the daily wagers did so to claim right, they’re tortured and booked for an 'illegal activity'.