LHC stays Rs 4,000 deduction from teachers’ salaries

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued a stay order against the monthly deduction of Rs 4,000 as ad-hoc relief fund from salaries of social studies (SST) teachers.
The court also sought reply from the Punjab Education Department and Punjab government until the first week of August on why deductions were being made from salaries of low-paid teachers. Acting Chief Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed issued the restraining order on petitions filed by 54 teachers submitting that Rs 4,000 per month were being deducted from their salaries under the garb of ad-hoc relief fund, which is adding to their financial woes in times of hyperinflation.
Petitioners, including Rana Iqbal others, through their counsel Abdullah Dogar, submitted that the government, instead of increasing salaries, was reducing their income, which was unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional. They requested the court to restrain the education department from deducting their salaries and reimburse the amounts deducted from their salaries so far. The acting CJ, after hearing arguments of the petitioners’ counsel, barred the education department and the Punjab government from deducting salaries until the final decision of their petitions.