At the call of All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) employees of grade 1 to 15 of Irrigation, special education, education, excise and taxation, works and highways, health, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) on Thursday organised a rally under the leadership of Khalid Sanghera, Rana Muhammad Ishaq, Mukhtar Rathore to protest against price hike of essential commodities in Multan.
They staged demonstration in front of Multan Press Club. Addressing the demonstrators, the APCA leaders demanded the immediate raise in salaries at least by 200 percent, besides medical allowance of Rs 2,000 per month and 60 percent increase in house rent.
Sanghera demanded of the federal government to shun discrimination among low-scale civil servants of all the four provinces and treat them equally. He presented a charter of demand and appealed the government to take revolutionary steps by launching some projects for the betterment of low-scale employees. Elaborating the problems of grade 1 to 16 civil servants, he said the government was showing immaturity in solving their problems and ignoring them.
Sanghera said the employees of Azad Kashmir, NWFP, Balochistan and Sindh have been enjoying house facility for the last 16 years but the employees of Punjab were being deprived of this facility. The government should provide maximum facilities to clerks and all types of workers.
He strongly opposed the deduction in clerk's salaries on pretext of group insurance scheme because this scheme amounts to financial murder of the government employees. He also demanded of the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to revise the old pay structure.
Addressing on the occasion, Rana Muhammad ishaq said if the government justified the house budget of civil servant in his limited salary then the APCA would call off protest demonstration. He said that to make a living on such a tiny amount was very difficult for the daily wagers and that's the reason they were forced to sell their children.
He rejected government's policy of 'Ownership of constructed house' which will be allotted at the time of employee's retirement. He suggested that the government should allot plots while the employees would construct their own houses according to their convenience. Malik Athar Haider said the government should also restore Hajj quota for low-scale employees.