ISLAMABAD: Almost all the unions of government offices in Islamabad have decided to participate in the lockdown of the federal secretariat blocks on April 24 in support of the secretariat employees’ council’s demand that the government should increase their salaries.

There are around 20 active unions in various government and semi-government departments in Islamabad. They have decided to form an ‘alliance’ to press the government for the salary increase in the next budget.

The idea to form the alliance was spearheaded by the CDA union and it is likely that all the unions will hold a meeting by the weekend.

“Our main agenda is to counter the federal government on privatisation, downsizing and the issue of salary raise in the light of a recent statement of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar,” said Chaudhry Yasin, the secretary general of the CBA union in the CDA.

“We have also decided to extend all-out support to the federal secretariat employees in the lockdown,” he added. The federal government employees have announced to lock the gates of the secretariat blocks.

“Our colleagues posted in some departments are getting 100 per cent additional salaries, some 200 and those in the Supreme Court even 300 per cent additional salary. This is not fair,” said Maqsood Hussain, the vice-president of the federal government secretariat employees’ council. He said these departments included PM’s Secretariat, Presidency and the finance ministry.

The move seems to have the support of senior government officers too as Mr Dar had stated that ‘no salary raise’ should be expected in the federal budget 2014-15.

Apart from making efforts to establish a broader alliance of unions, the CDA union is also finalising its new charters of demand for the management. Its main demand is to regularise the services of some 1,200 employees who have completed their two years of service.

After a relief granted by the government, the contracts of around 1,861 daily wage employees in the CDA were renewed for another quarter after their expiry on March 31.

Now the CDA union is pressing the management to get the services of these employees regularised.

“Out of these, there are some 1,100 employees in grade 1-5, mostly gardeners, and the other 100 are lower and upper division clerks,” said Chaudhry Yasin, adding: “We have a contract signed with the management of the CDA when Imtiaz Inayat Elahi was the chairman that all the employees completing two years of service would be regularised.”

He said all the daily wagers were working against the sanctioned posts and there would not be any additional financial burden if there services were regularised.

“If the CDA has to save money why not replace the officers on deputation, including the director human resource, with CDA employees,” he added.

While the director HR Asia Gul did not respond to a query by Dawn, the CDA spokesman said the civic body was following the government policies.

“This issue of hiring and regularisation is a serious matter and the management cannot make any decision independent of the federal government policies,” said Asim Khichi, the spokesman.

Meanwhile, some members of the CDA union said they would be able to mount pressure on the management of the civic agency whenever the alliance of all unions was established. They also said efforts would be made to include the unions of government office in the Rawalpindi district in their fold.