SAHIWAL: Non-teaching staff and daily-wage workers of the sub-campuses of Comsats University, Islamabad (CUI), including Sahiwal sub-campus, have been protesting for the last four days under the banner of the Non-Academic Staff Welfare Association.

Their demands include the release of Disparity Reduction Allowance of 2021 and 2022, approval of 10 per cent Adhoc Relief Allowance of 2021 and permanent job notification for 300 daily wage workers of sub-campuses.

Three dozen employees and 33 daily-wage workers have stopped working at the Sahiwal campus.

Sahiwal Campus director Prof Nazir Ahmed Zafar said he has forwarded the protesters’ charter of demands to the CUI rector.

Information secretary of the protesters Shagufta Kanwal told Dawn on phone from Islamabad that the boycott of official working and sits-in were ongoing at sub-campuses of Abbottabad, Wah Cantt, Attock, Vehari, Lahore and Sahiwal. She said the administration was reluctant to award what has been awarded by other public universities to their employees.

The protest has forced four campuses to switch over to online classes. These campuses include Islamabad, Wah Cantt, Sahiwal and Attock.

Daily-wage workers say they have been working for years, but their job has not been made permanent.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2022