KARACHI: The Sindh government’s decision to deduct at source the salaries of the provincial government employees, including college and university teachers as well as judicial staff, has sent a wave of resentment and shocked those low cadre staff who themselves hail from the calamity-hit areas in the province, it emerged on Friday.

The provincial government on Wednesday established the Sindh Flood Relief Fund (SFRF) for the people affected by torrential rains and flash floods across the province and notified that five-day salary of government officers from BPS-17 to BPS-22 and two-day salary of employees from BPS-1 to BPS-16 would be deducted.

On Thursday, almost every government employee received intimation from the finance department about at source deduction from their salary.

“I got a message that Rs25,000 are deducted from my monthly pay...this is sheer injustice with people like us,” said an assistant professor at a government college.

The government employees said that the “forced” deduction of salary would add to their financial woes as they were themselves in dire need of financial assistance to make up the losses caused by torrential rains.

The bodies of college and university teachers had also rejected the forced deduction of salaries and termed it a cruel decision.

However, the provincial government on Friday issued another notification exempting all the cadre officers and staff of the high court and subordinate judiciary from deduction on account of contribution toward the SFRF.

The notification was apparently issued following a letter written to the finance secretary by Assistant Session Judge Karachi West Faique Ali Pathan to the provincial government against deductions from the salaries of the government employees for flood victims.

He wrote that even lands of the government employees are affected from the ongoing floods.

He claimed that such deductions without the permission of the employees were against the Constitution and demanded that the finance department halt such deductions and return the money to employees.

The judge warned that if the money was not returned then they would also approach the Sindh High Court. “I am being paid salary for services rendered by me and there is no any act of kindness or grace on the part of the government in paying me salary.”

“The civil servant has to pay liabilities and maintain his family from salary, hence such type of forceful deduction of the salary of an employee without his consent is arbitrary and unconstitutional,” he said.

Later in the day, the finance department, without citing any reason, issued a notification stating that the government of Sindh “has been pleased to exempt all the cadre officers and staff of Sindh High Court and its benches and circuit courts, judicial officers and staff of district and civil courts of Sindh” from deductions on account of contribution towards the SFRF.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2022