Pakistan Railway workers, while protesting against delay in payment of salaries, Tuesday disrupted train service and delayed departure of Karachi Cantonment bound 14th Downing Train, known as Awami Express, for a period of three hours. The departure could be made after payment of salaries to the workers.
Led by Syed Ashfaq Bacha, President Mazdoor Ittehad CBA Union, railway workers took to the platform, track and engines to prevent departure of train service to different cities from Peshawar. The angry workers sit on railway track and some even lay before the trains to force stoppage.
The train was due to leave for departure to Karachi and Quetta at 9:00 am, while Quetta Express at 8:00 am, but due to the protest of the workers, they failed to steam up for their destinations as per this schedule. Majority of the passengers on the trains were those who were to leave to celebrate Eid in their native towns and families in different cities of Punjab and Sindh. Delay in the departure prompted passengers to cancel their tickets and bookings.
Protesting workers climbed on top of engines, standing and sitting in front of the trains to prevent departure, which was finally allowed at 12:00 hours, that too, after arrival of cash in the accounts' section of railways. The protest was announced by president of CBA union after negotiations with the administration of railways Peshawar division. The administration looked totally hapless before the angry workers who were not ready to budge a little than the payment of their salaries.
Expressing his views on the occasion, Ashfaq Bacha said protests are being observed across the country against delay in the payment of salaries to class-III and class-IV employees of Pakistan Railways.
He said that labourers of Pakistan Railways handed-over 142-points programme for financial revival of the department. He added that implementation of the programme will not only stabilise financial conditions of the railway, but also enable it earn a profit of rupees five billion annually. Bacha said Pakistan Railways has huge and prime property, which should be utilised for construction of commercial plazas to earn billion of rupees'.
A railway official, on condition of anonymity, confirmed cancellation of 21 tickets for cities of Attock, Taxila, Rawalpindi and other cities of Punjab. However, he was unaware of the cancellation of tickets by Karachi or Quetta-bound passengers. The workers were protesting against delay in the payment of the salary to low-paid class-III and class IV employees, whose payment was scheduled on Monday, November 15. They termed delaying tactics in payment of salaries on the eve of the Eidul Azha sheer injustice and totally unjustified act of the railway administration.