PESHAWAR: Government employees across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday staged protests on the call of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGIGA) and the All Government Employees Coordination Council KP, demanding an increase in salaries and other service-related benefits.
Protest demonstrations were also held outside district press clubs across the province, while the main rally took place outside the Peshawar Press Club, where a large number of government employees participated, carrying placards and banners inscribed with their demands.
The protest was led by AGIGA KP Chairman Professor Abdul Hameed Afridi, General Secretary Syed Waqar Ali Shah, Coordination Council KP President Haji Siraj Baraki and General Secretary Sarir Khan.
Other leaders and participants included AGIGA Pakistan Chairman Haider Ali Khan Stanikzai, Samiullah Khalil, Azizullah Khan, Mumtaz Ali Khan, Naveed Gul Bacha Khwani, Gohar Taj, Asif Khan Afridi, Dr. Muhammad Usman, Prof. Dr. Waheed Khushk, Shah Jahan Nasir Shah Afridi, Kaleem Khan Mehsud, Baba Khan Khalil and several representatives of various employee unions.
Addressing the gathering, speakers criticised the provincial government over disparities in salaries and benefits, stating that “two systems cannot run within one state.” They alleged that while thousands of government employees were being deprived of their rights, selected groups were being granted extraordinary privileges.
The employee leaders warned that if discriminatory policies continued, deprived employees would intensify their protest campaign. They further claimed that unequal treatment had created widespread frustration among government workers across the province.
During the protest, AGIGA and the Coordination Council presented a comprehensive charter of demands to the provincial government. Key demands included restoration of the old pension system, a 100 percent increase in salaries, elimination of pay disparities, restoration of previous pension allowances, reversal of privatization and outsourcing policies, regularization of contract and ad hoc employees, and enhancement of various allowances, including house rent, medical, and conveyance allowances.
The protesters also demanded service structure reforms for teachers, Lady Health Workers, clerical staff, judicial employees and other government departments, along with regularization and upgradation of multiple cadres. They further called for increasing the minimum wage from Rs40,000 to Rs70,000.
The alliance leaders announced that a “full-fledged protest movement” would be launched after Eidul Azha and warned that government employees would not hesitate to make sacrifices for their rights.
They also announced that a joint meeting of government employees from across the country would be held in Islamabad on May 22 under the banner of AGIGA Pakistan to finalize future protest plans and demonstrations ahead of the upcoming federal budget.
In Bajuar, the government employees under the banner of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA) staged a protest demonstration outside the Bajaur Press Club, demanding protection of employees’ rights and reversal of what they termed anti-employee policies.
The protesters chanted slogans against the government and called for immediate acceptance of their demands, including restoration of the old pension system and an end to the privatization of public institutions.
Addressing the gathering, leaders of various teachers’ and employees’ organizations, including Wahdat-e-Asatiza, Malgari Ustazan, Tanzeem-e-Asatiza, Peoples Teachers Forum, Allied Health Professionals Association, and Public Health representatives, strongly criticized government policies affecting public sector workers.
The speakers said government employees were facing increasing economic difficulties due to inflation and warned that protests would intensify if their demands were not addressed.
The government employees across Shangla district also staged a protest and observed a pen-down strike.
Employees from various departments boycotted official duties and gathered outside the Shangla Press Club, where they held a sit-in demonstration carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans in support of their demands.
In Mansehra, the teaching community took to the streets to demand an increase in salaries in accordance with the prevailing inflation rate in the country.
“The prices of essential and kitchen items have increased manifold, reducing the purchasing power of the people, and the salaried class is the worst hit,” Attique Mughal, president of the All Teachers Association, told protesters assembled outside the press club here.
Teachers carrying banners and placards marched through various roads before gathering outside the press club.
They raised slogans in support of their demands and warned that if those were not met, they would launch a province-wide street agitation.
