LAHORE, April 7: Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has constituted a committee to consider the government servants’ demand for the restoration of pension and gratuity, selection grades and advance increments.

The committee, headed by additional secretary Naved Hasan, was formed during a meeting with a delegation of the Pakistan Workers’ Confederation. The minister also promised to consider the demand for lifting restrictions imposed on bank workers’ trade union activities under Section 27-B of the Banking Companies Ordinance.

The progress was announced by Pakistan Wapda Hydro-electric Central Labour Union secretary general Khurshid Ahmad during a meeting at Bakhtiar Labour Hall here on Sunday. Mr Ahmad thanked Wapda management for grant of selection grades to its senior employees in various categories and demanded selection grade for senior meter readers as well.

Agha Badrul Islam Abdali, Syed Sajjad Husain Shah, Osama Tariq, Khalid Mahmood, Sheikh Muhammad Shoaib and Malik Noor Muhammad said the government should restore benefits like pension, gratuity, selection grade and advance increments which had been available to the employees for several decades.