In our case the SBP did not allow us the 20 per cent raise in the pension following the announcement of the budget for 2010-11, though hefty increase in salaries of serving employees were allowed by the authorities concerned. It, therefore, seems necessary that while announcing the increase in salaries and pensions, it may be clearly mentioned that increase in salaries and pensions may be allowed to all employees and pensioners of the government as well as of all institutions working under the government, i.e. corporations, SBP and others, so that all employees, serving and retired, should get the benefit of increase as announced in the annual budget by the ministry of finance with effect from July 1 of the new financial year, i.e. July 1, 2012, without any ambiguity and hesitation.

A letter by DR ALI AKBAR DHAKAN
Ex-State Bank Executive Director

Published by Daily Dawn on May 19, 2012

The administrator directed the officials’ concerned to ensure timely payment of salaries to employees mainly between the grade 1 to 15 pay-scale.

Earlier, the statement said, financial advisor to the KMC, Amir Khursheed, briefed the administrator about the availability of the required amount in the account of salaries and the letter to the finance department asking the heads of different sections to submit their salary bills without delay.

Published by Daily Dawn on May 19, 2012

Punjab Paramedical Alliance (PPA) had organised the protest demonstration at Ganga Ram Hospital while sit-in was observed on Queens Road in which the protesters demanded allocation of health professional allowance and pay protection for grade 1 to 17 paramedics and service structure for grade 1 to 4 paramedical staff.

The protesters carrying placards and banners also chanted slogans in favour of their demands and criticised the Punjab government.

Addressing the protesters, PPA office-bearers, including Malik Munir Ahmad, Yousaf Billa, Rehmat Sindhu and Arshad Butt condemned the Punjab government for committing economic exploitation of paramedics by denying due right to them in the hospitals across the province.

They said the paramedics had been protesting for the last 12 days but neither provincial bureaucracy nor Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif seemed to be serious in resolving their problems.

They also demanded regularization of the services of daily wage employee, contract and Board of Management employees.

Punjab Paramedical Alliance office-bearers said the government’s indifferent attitude was compelling them towards complete strike in all hospitals, warning that in such a case the entire responsibility would be upon government’s shoulders.

Published by Daily The News on May 19, 2012

This was demanded in a meeting of workers with General Manager (GM) Operations Junaid Qureshi on May 18.

Senior trade union leaders including President Pakistan Railways Employees (PREM) Union Shahid Iqbal, representative of Mehnatkash Union Manzoor Ahmed Mallah, and representative of Labour Division Hafiz Muhammad Anwar were present. The delegation presented their demands to the GM.

Qureshi appreciating the efforts of the labour leaders assured them that all problems of the technical staff would be resolved as soon as possible.

Published by Daily The News on May 19, 2012

Protesting in front of the office of GEO, Islamabad, the employees, who are on hunger strike, included Niaz Ahmed, Zulfikar Ali, Mohammad Khalid, talking to newsmen alleged that the old bureaucrats serving in Planning Commission who are at the age of superannuation managed to get extension in their services by another one year, while they are hell bent on to suspend the DRAPP project and its component FDU on June 30.

Expressing concern over the situation, they regretted that on one hand the bureaucrats of Planning Commission giving excuses of paucity of funds are suspending DRAPP and FDU, while on the other hand are extending other projects with which they themselves are associated with.

Published by Daily The News on May 19, 2012

Published by Daily The News on May 19, 2012

All 50 employees associated with the project gathered in front of the office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and set up a hunger strike camp, but the city administration did not allow them as no permission was taken in this regard. However, the protesters remained over there and kept on raising slogans against the officials of the Planning Commission, who according to them, were creating obstacles. On seeing the protesters, in the absence of Minister for Labour, Manpower and Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah, his personal staff officer visited the site and registered the protest and assured the demonstrators of bringing the matter into the notice of the minister with the purpose of resolving it.

Carrying placards and banners in their hands, the employees then marched towards the Parliament House. On reaching the D-Chowk, they held a demonstration in front of the office of Geo TV and staged a sit-in for about two hours.

Speaking on the occasion, Zahid Ashraf Awan, Sibtain Chaudhry, Zulfikar Ali and others hit hard the management for violating the orders of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for continuation of the project or merging it with the water section.

The speakers alleged that some bureaucrats in order to extend the services of retired officials on higher scales were opposing the projects of DRAPP and FDU. On one side, the prime minister has promised to provide jobs to over 100,000 people in the next fiscal year, but on the other hand some elements were trying to defame the name of the federal government as they were imposing wrong decisions, making a large number of employees jobless. They said that the prime minister is the supreme authority and if his orders are not followed then legal action should be taken against the violating officials.

The demonstrators demanded of the chief justice of Pakistan to take immediate notice of violations of orders by the head of the government by some bureaucrats and bind them to enforce orders in letter and spirit.

They said that the protest movement would continue and on May 18 the employees would demonstrate in front of the Parliament House for their due rights.

Published by Daily The News on May 18, 2012

The paramedics boycotted their duties in outdoor ward for two hours.

They also held a rally in which the protesters were carrying placards and banners and chanting slogans in the favor of their demands.

Speaking on the occasion, PPA provincial chairman Malik Munir Ahmad condemned the government for committing economic exploitation by denying due right to the paramedical staff in the hospitals of the province. They also demanded regularization of services of daily wagers and contract and Board of Management employees.

They said they had been protesting for last 11 days but neither the chief minister nor bureaucracy seemed to be serious in resolving their problems. “More than 100,000 paramedics working in public sector hospitals of Punjab are extremely worried over the current dispensation,” they added.

They announced holding protest demonstration and rally in front of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on May 18 (today) and boycott duties from 8:00am till 10 am.

PPA office bearers also warned that if the Punjab government continued to show apathy in resolving genuine problems of paramedical staff, the paramedics were considering observing complete strike in all hospitals from May 21.

Published by Daily The News on May 18, 2012

One Zulfiqar had moved a habeas corpus petition for the recovery of his relatives from detention of kiln owner, Haji Razzaq. He claimed that the kiln owner had violated the agreement and never paid them salary according to the agreement and they were detained when they demanded their wages. He alleged that the detainees were being subjected to torture and forced labour by the kiln owner and they were not even given proper food. He also alleged that the contractor, Akhtar Muhammad, had criminally assaulted women workers also.

The court had deputed a bailiff who raided the kiln and recovered the detainees and produced them before the court on May 17. After bailiff’s report, the court set all the detainees at liberty.

Published by Daily The News on May 18, 2012

Biosaline-II project is a joint venture of the Punjab government and UNDP. A meeting of the steering committee was held on May 17 in P&D Department in which it was decided that the project would be closed on 30th of June and for Biosaline-III, new staff would be recruited after laying off the existing staff.

Biosaline-II has been working in three districts of Hafizabad, Sargodha and Jhang. Under the project, thousands of acres of saline land of three districts have reclaimed mitigating financial woes of the small farmers of these districts.

The project brought good name to the Punjab Government in the area.

Talking to this scribe, the staff from three districts said that they would stage a protest against their layoff. They expressed surprise over the decision and questioned the logic behind the removal of experienced staff.

They alleged that some high-ups in agriculture departments were out to recruit their cronies in their place.

Published by Daily The News on May 18, 2012