KARACHI, March 3: Karachi Metropolitan Corporation workers have said they have not yet been paid the salaries for January and February and if they are not paid their wages immediately, they might resort to ‘extreme action’.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, KMC Sajjan Union (CBA) chief Zulfiqar Shah deplored that the KMC administrator and the Sindh government did not realise the hardships workers faced because of non-payment of salaries.

He demanded that rather than giving special grants and other grants in lieu of octroi and zila tax etc, the old system of octroi tax be restored and the KMC allowed to collect property tax, motor vehicles tax etc to be able to pay salaries to its employees.

He said the special grant being given by the Sindh government was not a charity, but a right of the KMC. He said from July 2012 to February 2013 only Rs3 billion had been released under the special grant whereas the amount due was Rs4 billion.