Islamabad-Daily-wage staff of educational institutions under Federal Directorate of Education on Tuesday announced boycotting academic activities from today against non-payment of their salaries.

The daily-wage employees of government educational institutions held a protest demonstration outside the National Press Club against non-payment of their salaries and in favour of regularisation of their services.

Presently, there are around 2,200 daily-wage teachers and non-teaching staff members deputed at various educational institutions working under the FDE.

The protestors said that Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat had directed regularising their services but the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) as a revenge held back their salaries. “We have been deprived of our salaries for the last six months,” said Rooh-ul-Ameen, a teacher at a model college.

The protestors said that the Minister for CADD Tariq Fazal Chaudhary and Director General FDE had been informed about the strike in the educational institutions till their demands are met.

Coordinator Daily-Wage Employees Association Ihsan Bangesh said that the Secretary CADD in 2013 had issued notification regarding regularisation of the employees following the policy announced by the then federal cabinet, but appointment letters were not issued to them.

The protestors raised slogans against Minister of State for CADD for not resolving the issue during more than four years tenure of the present government.

Around 2,200 teaching and non-teaching staff’s future is hanging in balance for the last three years and they are on roads every six months for release of their salaries and regularisation of their services.

The protestors also condemned new hiring by the CADD ministry to fill the various vacancies in the educational institutions, calling it a deliberate discrimination against the daily-wage employees.

The protestors presented four demands to the CADD ministry including regularisation of their services under 2011 policy, immediate release of their salaries, cancellation of the advertisement issued for hiring new staff and avoiding discrimination policy in future.

A senior official of the FDE said that a case for salaries of the daily-wage employees had been sent again to finance division for approval and no discrimination was being done with the daily wagers.

ISLAMABAD: Daily-wage teaching and non-teaching staff of educational institutions under FDE protesting in favour of their demands.–Staff photo by Javed Nasir