December 19, 2006	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 27, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 18: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Employees Union (PTCL) Monday accused the company administration of pursuing discriminatory policies depriving the low-scale employees of their due rights.

Talking to this reporter, President PTCL Employees Union Naveed Bhatti said that there existed a big dichotomy between the employees working on the same posts from scale 1 to 16. He said those working as daily wagers and later on regularised as permanent employees before 1996 were availing themselves of all perks and privileges but those regularised in September 2004 were yet to get their rights.

He said about 7,000 daily wagers were absorbed as regular employees in 1996 and 12,000 in 2004. He said there were as many as 15 different kinds of allowances/grants to which the permanent employees were entitled but the same was being denied to the daily wagers.

These include Rs2,000 special allowance, Rs500 telecom allowance, Rs400 medical allowance, Rs200 good conduct allowance, Special Relief Allowance amounting to 15 per cent of the basic pay announced during the tenure of former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and ad hoc allowance amounting to 15 per cent per cent of the basic pay.

The other allowances are Rs50,000 marriage grant facility, the annual education grant of Rs1,000-Rs1500, rest and recreation allowance paid once in two years, benevolent grant of Rs200,000 (paid to the employees who die during service), house building advance, motorcycle advance, etc.

Tariq Abbasi, a union leader, complained that the company management had promised to provide them with all perks and privileges according to the new terms and conditions, but later on it ratted on the promise leaving them high and dry. He said even the 15 per cent increase in salary announced by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had not been paid to the employees.

It is pertinent to mention that a countrywide two-hour protest strike is observed daily in all PTCL offices. President PTCL Employees Union Naveed Bhatti said their protest strike was against the management that had partially implemented the agreement signed with the union in 2005.

When this reporter contacted Salem Al-Akbari, Member Human Resources PTCL, to seek his views, he declined to offer any comment.