Pakistan: Government employees to strike against no increment in salaries

The Express Tribune

With no increment in the wages of government employees, clerical staff has announced a strike starting tomorrow (Friday), reported Express News. Clerks will take to the roads starting tomorrow and have said that the strike will continue till their demands are met. Compared to the increment in commodity prices, the current salaries of government employees do not add up to an affordable level. It is the first time that the democratic government did not increase the salaries of government employees. The government informed them that the current economic situation of the country does not allow an increment in salaries, however government employees have projected that they are not in the situation to live comfortably within the given salary rate. Grade 1 to 16 officers did not see an increment in their heath or housing allowances either. The increase in pension is also not seen as a favourable decision as employees argued that the previous Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led government increased salaries and allowances generously. In the first three years of their tenure, they increased salaries by 135% and by 50% in the last two years.