HYDERABAD, Aug 10: Retired municipal employees held a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Tuesday against non- payment of four months' pension to 1,650 employees. They carried placards and banners and raised slogans against taluka nazims.

Speaking on the occasion, Hyderabad Municipal Workers Union (CBA) president Ghulam Mohammad Qureshi, general-secretary Mohammad Akram Rajput and other office-bearers said families of the employees were facing starvation as they had not been paid pension for the last four months.

They said only four days back a retired employee, Yaqoob Shah, died as he had no money to buy medicines. They said millions of rupees were being spent on different projects but the municipal employees were not being paid their pension.

The union leaders alleged that nazims of Qasimabad and Latifabad talukas were creating hurdles in the payment of pension. They also criticized the district nazim and the DCO for their indifferent attitude in the matter.

They warned that in-service employees would boycott their works if the retired employees were not paid their dues. It may be recalled here that City Taluka Nazim Moinuddin Shaikh had complained to the District Public Complaint Cell on June 30 that despite instructions from the DCO, taluka municipal officers of Latifabad and Qasimabad had not remitted the pension contribution of their talukas to the City Municipal Administration. He said due to the delay, pension to 1,650 retired employees could not be paid.

Earlier on June 11, a meeting, held under the chairmanship of the district nazim and attended by nazims of the three talukas and the DCO, had also directed TMOs of Qasimabad and Latifabad to remit the pension contribution along with the share of deficit amount.

Mr Shaikh had told the secretary for the local government that as taluka nazims of Qasimabad and Latifabad were not cooperating, the pension amount should be deducted directly from the share of octroi duty and district tax of the three talukas.

SRTC: Former employees of the defunct Sindh Road Transport Company held a demonstration outside the press club, demanding implementation of article-6 of an agreement signed between workers and the Sindh government and payment of their dues under the said agreement.