SWABI: The members of United Municipal Workers Union staged a rally to protest non-payment of salary and pension to them and demanded of the government to provide funds to Chota Lahor tehsil.

The TMA workers and leaders took out a procession from TMA offices to Chota Lahor courts. Chanting slogans against the proposed pension reforms, they were holding banners and placards inscribed with their demands.

They also rejected the pension reforms, saying parliamentarians recently increased their perks and privileges by 300 per cent.

They said that pensions of poor public sector employees had already been reduced by 35 per cent and the proposed 40 per cent cut would almost abolish their pensions.

Addresses the protesters, UMWU president Umar Ayaz Khan said that owing to non-payment of pension and salaries, TMA workers were facing severe financial difficulties. He said that their children studying in various schools were threatened with expulsion owing to non-payment of fee.

“The government is responsible for the entire mess and it should ensure timely payment of salary and pension to employees,” he said.

He added that they appealed to government to release funds and give up the practice to target those TMAs where the Tehsil chairmen belonged to rival parties.

Tariq Ali, the general secretary of the union, said that he along with other workers could not even pay electricity bills owing to non-payment of salary. He said that he had also received power cut notices from Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco).

The protesters said that Deputy Commissioner Nasrullah Khan should distribute the funds of Rs170 million equally among all the TMAs of the district so that the problems of workers were resolved. They said that it would provide an opportunity to workers to live peacefully and pass the upcoming of Ramazan without any tension.

They threatened to stage more protests if their demands were not met. They said that more delaying tactics were not acceptable to them. They said that there was no other option but to remain on roads as the government policies pushed them to the wall.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2025