LAHORE, Feb 1: The Punjab Teachers Action Committee has warned the government that it will resume protest campaign after Muharram if schoolteachers’ demands are not met.

Presiding over a meeting here on Wednesday, PTAC chairman Hafiz Abdul Nasir said it had put off the campaign owing to Muharram and on the assurance of the Punjab government that their demands would be met. The meeting condemned baton-charge of the protesting teachers at the Nasser Bagh on Tuesday.

It said the government had constituted a five-member committee to resolve their (schoolteachers) problems. The meeting hoped the committee would help resolve their problems.

The teachers’ demands include regularization of the services of contract teachers, timely promotion, withdrawal of the notices issued to them on the pretext of “poor performance”, removal of former servicemen from school monitoring teams.

The committee also demanded that schools should be under the administrative control of the provinces and the schools handed over to the NGOs be taken back.

PWF: The Pakistan Workers Federation has urged the government to negotiate with teachers on their demands instead of forcing them to resort to agitation.

Federation president Talib Nawaz and secretary-general Khurshid Ahmad said in a statement that demands for employment of teachers on a regular basis and increase in pay and allowances were genuine.

They said acceptance of demand for stopping political interference in educational institutions and transfer and posting of teachers was also necessary.