LARKANA: Members of the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Teachers Association observed two-hour token strike and staged a sit-in at Chandka Medical College on Monday in protest against the university’s failure to accept their demands including raise, promotion and time-scale.

The protesters said that instead of granting two-month ad hoc relief allowance, the university had unjustifiably cut their salaries.

They said the university managers had turned a deaf ear towards their demands for time-scale and promotions, which had been overdue for along time.

They regretted the university had not even held a meeting of selection board for the purpose and the delay was causing a wave of resentment among faculty members.

Dr Abdul Hafeez Abro, president of the association, told Dawn that they had submitted their genuine demands to the vice chancellor and other forums concerned but they had been put on the backburner.

He said that meetings with the vice chancellor in this regard remained fruitless as she had always assured them of accepting their demands but she never her word. Meetings with the director of human resources also did not bear fruit and the delay was causing unrest among teachers, he said.

It was discouraging that though they had submitted thrice reminders to the university management it had been dragging its feet on issue. The last reminder was sent on May 27, 2023, he said.

He said that teachers were facing difficulties in their careers and were being denied financial benefits which their colleagues in other universities were getting from time to time. Such benefits and facilities were long overdue in this university, he said.

He said that teachers had served for more than a decade without any promotions. They had been given sureties about pensions, G.P. funds and health card from time to time again but the promises never materialised.

He said that copies of their demands were also sent to Sindh chief minister, secretary of the Universities and Boards and other departments concerned but to no avail.

The protesters appealed to the university management and other authorities concerned to accept their long-awaited genuine demands and said they had observed the token strike without disturbing regular classes but the protest would be widened if their demands were ignored again.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2023