Workers continue sit-in

LAHORE: The field staff of Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA) across the province continued their strike on second and demanded regularisation of their jobs here on Tuesday.

The employees were holding placards and staging a sit-in on the Mall. According to the protesters, no increment was given to them during the last three years. They said all Arazi Record Centres (ARCs) had been closed and staffers from all districts of Punjab came to Lahore for the protest. The protest would continue until their demands were fulfilled, said Qamar Ibrahim, senior vice president of Arazi Record Center Union Punjab (ARCUP). He said PLRA staff is working diligently. Unfortunately, the government wants to revive Patwari culture by making them village officers. We are educated and against bribe. Patwaris have indoor connections with bureaucrats and politicians. This nexus discourages well educated staffs of PLRA. That is why the government was not talking to the protesters, he said. Nadia Ahmad, Addl Director Communication and spokesperson for Director General Punjab Land Record Authority, rejected the allegation that no one was holding negotiation with them. According to the spokesperson, the authorities’ higher officials talked to the protesters. The board of directors had already approved a raise in the salary of field staff and the matter was sent to the finance department whereas the proposals for regularisation had been sent to the law department, Nadia said.