LAHORE – A partial strike was observed at the Punjab Civil Secretariat on Monday, as a majority of provincial service officers abstained from work owing to the strike, while the Punjab government continued to carry out essential work by appointing officers on key posts, Pakistan Today has learnt. Heavy contingents of police were deployed at the entrance and exits of the secretariat building, besides presence of lady constables at different spots to avert any kind of untoward incident, as the PCS Officers’ Association had announced to hold a protest outside the secretariat “at all costs”.
Administrative heads of various departments had also called officials from their attached departments to carry out the routine business. The Home Department called jail assistant superintendents from the Prisons Department, while the Education Department called lecturers on verbal orders to work as section officers, as a majority of section officers belonging to the provincial service remained absent. Provincial service officers also remained absent from the health and local government departments, while partial strike was observed in the Finance and Law departments. However, lower staff was present in all administrative departments.
Foreseeing the implications of the call for a strike, the Punjab government had already transferred many “dissenters” belonging to the provincial service on Friday. The offices of the cabinet and services wing of the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) however continued its routine work. The All Pakistan Clerks Associations (APCA) also gave a call for a strike. However, the government has constituted a committee to consider their charter of demands. The finance secretary will be the convener of the committee while its members will include the secretary communication & works, secretary irrigation & power and secretary (Regulations), S&GAD and make appropriate recommendations to resolve the matter.
Moreover, the government also transferred several officers in districts across Punjab, which many viewed as a move to halt the ongoing strike.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Services Secretary Sikandar Sultan Raja said that the routine work was not disturbed by the strike as many officers belonging to the provincial service attended offices. “We have also received written statements by many provincial service officers who have expressed indifference to the ongoing strike. The government business does not stop if a few officers refuse to work,” he said, adding that the strike is not justified especially when the government has already accepted a majority of their demands.
“We have long working relations with the provincial service officers, who are our colleagues, but creating hurdles in the government business was not justified. Talks are the best way out to resolve even the most serious issues. Around 29 officers have been issued show cause notice and they will be given a chance to explain their position as well,” Raja concluded.
However, PCS Officers’ Association President Rai Manzoor Nasir termed the strike a “success”, “despite the government efforts to curb it through different moves”. He alleged that the government had called in employees from the DGPR and asked them to take a stroll in the secretariat to give a “false impression” to the media.
To a question, he said the PCS Officers’ Association was ready for talks, but only with the chief minister. “The seriousness of the government to resolve the matter can be gauged from the fact that no one from the government contacted us for negotiations. It was only resorting to use of force but we will continue our strike unless our demands are met,” he added.
Secretariat half-shut
