|
Teachers demand pay raise
 |
ISLAMABAD, May (Daily Times): The Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) staged a protest in front
of the Parliament House to demand increase in salaries and condemn the
government's privatisation policy. |
The PTU is the largest teachers' organization in the country. Protestors condemned the government's decision to
privatise over 2,000 primary, middle and high schools. They said the government
had blocked their allowances after their announcement and gave them no salary
raise over the years. They demanded that contractual teachers be regularised and
given 15 percent increase in allowances while senior permanent teachers be
promoted.
The PTU president said vacancies in education department
should be filled and politics should not be involved in affairs of educational
institutions. He said teachers would launch a nationwide protest if their
demands were not met in the coming budget.
"The dream of 'educated
Punjab' cannot be realised until provincial teachers were given the same
facilities as set for federal teachers," said Rana Liaqat, a PTU member. Aslam
Ghumman, Ghulam Mustufa Riaz, Haji Nazar Muhammad, Qazi Abdur Rauf, Chaudhary
Muhammad Sarfraz, Mian Amjad Ali, Abdul Qayyum Rahi and Raja Ibrar also spoke on
the occasion.
|
