July 31, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 27, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 30: The two-week tussle between the Pakistan Telecommunication Company and its employees ended when the management accepted the latter’s demands on Wednesday.

Soon after the management’s decision, the PTCL United Workers Alliance called off its nationwide strike that had disrupted phone service and rendered more than half a million fixed line connections non-functional.

The management issued notifications to regularise contractual employees on the New Compensation Pay Grade (NCPG) and increase the salaries by 35 per cent.

A representative of the alliance, Malik Habib, said PTCL president Walid Arshad “understands our concerns and we pledge to work for improving the company’s services and image”.

Other union leaders, including Hassan Rana, Sardar Aurangzeb and Chaudhry Imran Aziz, promised to attend to complaints made during the strike.

The employees had taken over the lawns and driveways of the company’s headquarters last week and threatened to jam its network if their demands were not met.

The issue was resolved after negotiations among the management, union leaders and the government.