PESHAWAR: Rejecting the nominal increase in salaries of government employees in the federal budget, the school teachers have demanded 20 per cent raise in their salaries.
The All Primary Schools Teachers Association (APTA) and academicians of the public sector universities of Khyber Pakthunkhwa have urged the federal government to review its decision of increasing salaries and pensions of the government employees just by 7.5 per cent.
APTA Spokesperson Noor Habib Khan, while talking to the state-owned news agency, said that a grant of 7.5 percent as ad-hoc relief allowance in the pay and pension of the government employees announced in the federal budget 2015-16 was not sufficient keeping in view the prevailing price hike situation.
Most of the teachers, he said, cannot construct even a room for their families due to their low income and minimum wages and that quality education and health services was merely a dream for them.
To overcome teachers’ and other low grade employees’ financial problems, the APTA Spokesman demanded 20 percent increase in salaries and pension of the Govt employees from grade-1-15 and 15 percent in the salaries of BPS-16 and above officers. This would help provide maximum relief to the employees, pensioners to a great extent, he added.
The APTA Spokesman, however, welcomed the announcement of the merger of ad-hoc increases of 2011 and 2012 in the basic pay scale in the federal budget 2015-16.
Noor lauded the federal govt announcement of one pre-mature increment to grade 5 employees, Rs. 10,000 allowance for PhD scholars and 100 percent increase in the special pay of Senior Private Secretary, Private Secretaries and Assistance Private Secretaries.
This would help provide great financial relief to the university lecturers and private secretaries to great extent, he added.
Meanwhile, the college and universities lecturers demanded increase in salaries up to Rs 20000 per month. They also appreciated the PhD allowance of Rs 10,000 announced by the Federal Government in the budget.
