Teachers urge govt to address pay disparities

Islamabad : Teachers of the federal government colleges have demanded that government should take measures to reduce disparities in the pay and allowances of the employees in the federal budget 2022-23.

Anum Kaleem, joint secretary of Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) said, “We are in state of shock to listen the budget proposals in the news that the officers of Pak secretariat will get an executive allowance equal to 150 percent of their basic pay, 15 percent raise in basic pay, transportation allowance, increase in transport monetisation allowance against a minor raise of 15 percent for rest of the employees including teachers in the wake of this unprecedented inflation in the history of the country which is unfair,” she said.

She said teachers were already unhappy over disparity in their pays compared to the employees of secretariat, NAB, FIA, Parliament and judiciary.

Tasneem Akhter Mir, vice president of FGCTA said, “The rising levels of pay disparity in the country is socially harmful which shows injustice and carelessness toward employee entitlements”. She expressed her anguish over the maltreatment and victimization of low-paid employees and teachers confronting worst ever price hike.

Professor Jabir Hussain said, “ More powerful service groups are responsible for disparities because they get more financial benefits which cause divisions in employees. Too much pay disparity is bad for the country because it can foster resentment, lack of cooperation, sabotage, and lack of interest in work.” He further said, “The work of teachers is under-valued in terms of pay. Due to price hike, they have to spend their weekdays in cheap public bazars to meet the cost of living. Their professional duties are affected and the level of motivation has drastically fallen.”

Farhan Azam, senior vice president of FGCTA said, “Instead of justice, fair play and equality, worst ever disparity among the Government employees is being created. Disparity in pay breeds resentment.

"Thousands of employees will again be on roads in front of parliament to protest for their rights if the issue of disparity is not addressed. We will consult with the leadership of All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA) for a massive protest if disparity is not reduced," he said.

Dr Rahima Rehman president of FGCTA said the service structure of the teachers of the capital city was much lower than their provincial counterparts.

"The provinces like KPK, Punjab and Sindh have improved the 4-tier service structure for their teachers but the Federal education department is still stuck with the old 4 tier promotion formula of 1992."

She said it was the time to reduce the disparity by improving the service structure.

"Teachers are not given the benefits which secretariat employees have. They are being paid lower salaries than the officers of similar grades in the secretariat. Secretariat employees were given 20 percent special allowance in 2013 but teachers are still deprived of it," she said.

She urged the prime minister to reduce the pay disparity by increasing the pay of low paid employees.