HYDERABAD, July 23: Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Union (PTEU) CBA president Ziauddin has said that the union has asked PTCL workers from Punjab and the NWFP to assemble outside the company headquarters in Islamabad on Thursday to mount pressure on the management for acceptance of their demands.

He strongly reacted to the PTCL management’s initiative to withhold salary of protesting employees for current month if they did not resume their duties.

The union president told Dawn over phone from Karachi on Wednesday that a letter regarding stoppage of salaries had been despatched to company’s regional general managers, who subsequently distributed it in their offices for information of workers who were on strike from July 16 against the introduction of UPS’s and non-acceptance of their demands.

The employees have gone on strike against introduction of UPS scheme and for acceptance of their demands pertaining to the raise in salaries and other allowances that are availed in other government department employees but denied to them.

Strike in PTCL offices continued on Wednesday as the employees did not resume work though they were present in offices.

Meanwhile, no formal contact between the PTCL management and the CBA union has been established ever since the protest campaign is launched.

“The management hasn’t invited us and we are continuing with our protest programme. When there is no invitation how will we hold talks with company’s management,” said Ziauddin.

Regarding the distribution of letters whose email version was received in Hyderabad region (also seen by Dawn) to RGM, he said that the workers were not afraid of it.

He said that the union had asked workers from the NWFP and Punjab to converge at PTCL headquarters on Thursday to mount pressure on the management.

The demands of the union include revision of scales of PTCL workers’ salaries which have not been increased as per revision of their scales by the central government which has been done in case of other government employees.

Scales were revised in 2005 and 2008 but their salaries were not raised on the basis of these revised scales.

“Thirty five per cent raise in house rent and 300 per cent raise in conveyance allowance that is given to other government employees is not being given to PTCL workers,” said the president of CBA.