HYDERABAD, July 29: The office-bearers of the Workers Unions (CBA) of Hyderabad, Latifabad and Qasimabad talukas have decided to launch a protest movement from July 30 to press for the acceptance of their demands.

The demands include payment of salaries for the month of June, scholarships for the children of employees, implementation of the rule of 40 per cent employment to the children of employees, residential accommodation and repair of quarters as per written agreements and supply of uniforms.

This was said by Qamoos Gul Khattak, the secretary-general of the Muttahida Labour Federation (MLF), with which these three CBA unions are affiliated, while speaking at a news conference here on Monday.

He said in the larger interest of the public, the employees would not resort to strike but would wear black arm-bands and hold protest demonstrations in the premises of Hyderabad, Latifabad and Qasimabad municipal offices on Aug 3, 4 and 5 respectively.

He said if their demands were not accepted, the action committee of the three talukas would meet on Aug 7 to chalk out future course of action.

The taluka unions also criticized the abolition of octroi tax and its centralization.

The MLF leader said octroi tax was a provincial subject but in violation of the provincial autonomy, the federal government abolished this tax and was releasing salaries of workers from Islamabad as a result of which the salaries were never paid on time.

He pointed out that the local bodies’ employees through out the province had not been paid their wages of June and their families were starving.

He said after abolition of the octroi duty, the local bodies’ employees had been deprived of their basic rights and even the retired employees and families of the deceased employees had to look towards Islamabad for the payment of their dues.

Mr Khattak said not only this but the federal government had also started deduction of Wapda and other utility bills even before the funds were released to the local bodies.

He said that keeping in view the rate of inflation and the increase in prices of goods and services, the local bodies always auctioned their annual octroi duty with an increase of 15 per cent over the octroi collection of previous year.

He deplored that since 1998, no increase in the allocation of the local bodies had been made with the result that the local bodies had been incapacitated either to pay salaries or to undertake any welfare work.

In December 2001, the government framed a new pay scale by merging all financial benefits in the pay but these additional benefits in the pay scale were also not passed on to the employees, he said.

The MLF leader said the employees of local councils had to face the agitation of public due to the unhygienic conditions in the area but for the want of funds, there was an acute shortage of refuse vans and carts to left garbage heaps.

He said that sometimes even the petrol pump owners refused to supply petrol to municipal vehicles and deplored that how could cities and towns be kept clean without essential wherewithal.