July 28, 2008	Monday	Rajab 24, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 27: After the last rounds of negotiations between PTCL management and its employees failed on Sunday, the United Workers Alliance gave an ultimatum to the company to accept their demands or else they would jam the system.

The two sides failed to reach any agreement in a meeting which lasted nearly several hours and was presided over by the company president Walid Irshad.

“We don’t understand why the management can’t solve our problems. Our demands are simple. Employees have given a life time serving the company. We wish for better salaries and job security in these difficult times when it has become impossible to make ends meet,” said Malik Habib, a representative for the PTCL’s United Workers Alliance.

PTCL employees had rejected the Unified Pay Scale (UPS), which the company amidst recent strikes had withdrawn. They had been demanding that contractual or daily wage employees be regularised on basic pay scale as announced by the prime minister.

The employees have also demanded that regular PTCL employees be given pay scale – including increased house rents and transport allowances – applicable in 2005 which was announced by the then PM Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain.

“The government understands our stance but it is the Ehtesalat management that does not budge. They don’t care for workers’ welfare,” said Chairman PTCL Lions Staff Union Nadeem Haider.

“We understand that people are suffering and the company is at loss too, but the Arab management has not once increased salaries since 2005,” he said, complaining that he had been making Rs17, 000 since last three years.

“We don’t want to do something that we will regret later. But we have no choice. The company has till Monday afternoon. If they fail to fulfil our demands, we will jam the network,” he said.

Nadeem Haider emphasised that employees who had served PTCL for many years deserved better salaries and job security.