KARACHI - The permanent as well as contractual employees in Sindh Population Department are daily observing token hunger strike for the last 20 days against non-payment of their salaries since 16 months.

Under the umbrella of All Pakistan Clerk Association of Population Department, the women and male employees are daily observing token hunger strike outside the Karachi Press Club but no government official is paying heed towards their grievances.
The employees from grade one to 15 are deprived of their monthly salaries since 16 months, causing difficulties for the employees to feed their families with the continuous increasing inflation.
The women employees even burnt their ‘Dupattas’ as well as sent bangles as gift to the minister of the population welfare department and provincial secretary of the department against their long-standing issue.  When contacted, President of All Pakistan Clerk Association Sindh Chapter, Peeral Dayo told The Nation that these employees have been observing hunger strike for the last 20 days but no one from the government ever paid a heed towards their problems.
He said that at least 56 employees recruited in the Population Department, of which 22 were employed on deceased/death quota. All the employees were fall in grade one to 15 in the department recruited as stenographer, clerks, peons, drivers and other categories, he explained. The employees are performing their duties with honesty but they have been deprived of their monthly salaries since 16 months, he said.
Dayo alleged that the Secretary of Population Department, Saleem Raza Khuhro is responsible for delay in the payment of salaries.
He demanded the higher authorities to remove the provincial secretary of the population department as he has failed in resolving the genuine demands of the employees. When the PPP government is sloganeering of giving employment for all than why it is not regularising the services of 1,250 male mobilisers and other employees like they did with the Lady Health Workers.  He further said that employees who had been serving in the population department for many years but were deprived of facilities.
Reminding the PPP ministers of ‘Roti, Kapra and Makan’, he demanded the government to fulfill the promise of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto by regularising their services before completing the tenure of the present assemblies.  Dayo further demanded the Sindh government to regularise the services of the employees as well as introduce seniority list and time-scale for the employees of the population welfare department.
Abdul Qudoos, a driver who is working in the population department while narrating his miseries said that he was working on contract basis as a driver since 16 months but did not get the salaries. He asked the government authorities to look into their problems as he and other employees have been living in rented houses. How could a poor person live without salary and bear the daily expenditures as well as children’s education, he questioned. 
Sakina Ali, general secretary of the employees’ association, said that at least 22 people were recruited on deceased/death quota but they were still deprived of the salaries. They said that each of them was employed after the death of their father or mother on deceased quota but despite performing duty regularly they were not getting salaries since long.
Some of the female employees said that they were recruited on permanent basis on deceased quota but yet not get the salaries.
They vowed to continue their protest until their demands are not met.
‘Sindh govt commits contempt of court’: Karachi Metropolitan Corporation employees on Monday said that Sindh government had committed contempt of court by not releasing the grant for pension of KMC employees.
President of the union, Zulfiqar Shah in a statement said that Sindh High Court CJ on January 31 had directed the Sindh government to release the Rs600 million as grant otherwise the contempt of court notice would be issued to the government.
Despite a clear order of the High Court, the Sindh government has yet not release the grant. He appealed to the apex court to initiate contempt of court against the government.
Even, the fire fighters have not received the Fire Risk Allowance for the last three months.
 Moreover, machinery pool, fumigation and malaria section employees were also deprived of their outstanding dues.
Shah alleged that the Finance Department of the KMC is not implementing the orders of the KMC administrator and chief officer. He reminded that the chief officer in a recent meeting had assured them that the salaries of one to 10-grade employees would be released immediately.