More than 400 sacked teachers and non-teaching employees of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) took to the streets again for reinstatement on Thursday.
A couple of weeks ago, the Evacuee Trust Property Board secretary assured the protesting teachers to resolve their problems within 15 days. As the deadline ended, the fired staffers opted to stage a sit-in in front of the Punjab Assembly.
The demonstrators stated that they were not being paid salaries for the past two months and that the Evacuee Trust Property Board management has decided to terminate them.
Holding banners and placards, the protesters were chanting slogans against the government’s apathy.
Protesters threatened to continue with the sit-in till the acceptance of their demands. Till the filing of this report, the protesters were present at Chairing Cross.
“We stand firm on our demands. We have decided to stay here,” said a leading protester Shakeel. He added that government has been delaying the matter.
Sources said the Evacuee Trust Property Board accounts department raised objection to the recruitment of employees, including staff of Aysha Degree College, Nicolson Road; Nawaz Sharif Model Girls High School, Nicolson Road; Benazir Bhutto High School, Badami Bagh; and Dr Matin Fatima Girls High School, Shahdra.
Most of the protesters has been working without salaries for last few months, said the sources, adding that some sacked staffers’ service spanned 18 years.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board secretary was also accused of using abusive language when some of the protesters had a meeting with him in connection with their demands.