IT is regrettable that despite repeated assurances, grievances of the Punjab Government employees have not yet been addressed in a satisfactory manner, prompting them to resort to protests and pen-down strikes, affecting service delivery and creating problems for the general public. In utter frustration, the protestors have now started encircling offices of the local commissioners and deputy commissioners to press for their demands.
It is strange why the Government of the largest province of the country is paying no heed to the genuine demands of the employees who want nothing but an end to the discriminatory treatment. They are demanding salaries, pensions and other benefits at par with federal government employees, which should not be considered as an extra favour. The protesting employees have a point as for a number of years, they were given much less increase in pay/allowances as well as pensions as compared to the increase announced by the federal government. To add salt to their injuries, on several occasions, the Sindh and KP governments went a step ahead in granting additional increase to their employees over and above what the federal government announced in a particular year. It is because of all this that salaries and pensions of the employees of the Punjab Government are substantially lower than their colleagues in other provincial governments, creating a sense of deprivation among them. The Punjab Government added to the woes of its employees by announcing unilateral changes in pension and leave encashment rules as well. In response to the consistent protests by employees, the Chief Minister announced to review the proposed changes but the commitment has so far not materialized. The protesting employees rightly point out that those who are set to retire soon would suffer huge financial losses if the contentious issues are not resolved at the earliest.
