PESHAWAR: Municipal employees and pensioners staged a protest and sit-in outside the Capital Metropolitan Government offices and the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, demanding the immediate payment of pending salaries and pensions.
A large number of employees and retired workers participated in the protest, which was led by Mazdoor Ittehad Chairman Qaiser Bacha and other labour leaders.Employees from various departments, including the Capital Metropolitan Government, TMAs Shah Alam and Chamkani, General Bus Stands, Municipal Inter Colleges, the Fire Brigade, and the East and West Zones, took part in the demonstration.
The protesters chanted slogans against the non-payment of salaries and pensions and later marched to the Peshawar Press Club to express solidarity with other government employees.Workers from Pakistan Railways, the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP), and other departments also joined the protest.
Addressing the participants, Qaiser Bacha said it was highly unfortunate that salaries and pensions had not been paid before Eidul Azha, leaving serving employees, retired workers, and widows facing severe financial hardship.
The labour leader also demanded a 100 per cent increase in salaries and pensions in the upcoming budget, the merger of all ad hoc allowances into the basic pay structure, and the extension of the Disparity Reduction Allowance to provincial employees on the pattern of federal government workers.
