June 29, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1429

HYDERABAD, June 28: A large number of male and female primary teachers from Matiari, Tando Mohammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Dadu, Jamshoro and Hyderabad under the banner of All-Sindh Primary Teachers Association staged a token hunger strike outside the press club on Saturday to press the government for the acceptance of their demands.

The central secretary general of the association, Munir Ahmed Bhatti, and other leaders who led the hunger strike told newsmen that despite promises by the prime minister, chief minister and education minister, no relief had been provide to teachers in the provincial budget for 2008-09.

They warned that if the government failed to resolve their problems, the association would convene a meeting in Hyderabad on July 7 to chalk out future course of action.

They demanded that the ban imposed on teachers’ associations by former Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim should be lifted, teachers of Sindh should be given the same facilities as were available to the teachers of other provinces.

They should be paid teaching and rural allowances, quota for teachers and the deceased should be restored and medical and residential facilities should be announced, they said.

They demanded that the PSTs should be promoted to JST and all the educational institutions should be given back in the control provincial government.

TOOL-DOWN STRIKE: The employees of Jamshoro Thermal Powerhouse continued tool down strike on the sixth consecutive day on Saturday in protest against delay in action against Hesco officials for disconnecting power supply to their residential colony on June 23, which was later restored.

The employees announced that they would besiege 132kv grid station on June 30 and stage a sit-in against the alleged highhandedness of Hesco authorities.