All Pakistan Secretariat Union’s employees on Wednesday announced to call off a strike after a meeting with Planning and Development Federal Minister Ahsen Iqbal.
Union President Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain thanked the government over a 10 percent salary increase and demanded that all legitimate demands of the employees be fulfilled.
He presented a demands list which included uniform salaries for all employees in similar pay scales, pension increases, allowance mergers in basic pay, financial benefits on the basis of higher education, computer allowance for stenographers and private secretaries, restoration of move over and selection grades and promotional opportunities for class-4 employees especially drivers.
The minister appreciated the union’s decision of the union to call off the strike.
He explained that the nation’s exchequer was in dire straits, while they could give a 50 percent increase in salaries by printing money to gain political mileage but it would devalue the rupee, making salary raises futile.
He explained that the last government committed this blunder, which led to the masses voting them out in these elections.
Moreover, he pointed to Pakistan’s dismal fiscal deficit which has crosses the 8.8 percent mark, thus making it harder for the government to comply with all of the union’s demands.
Iqbal added that giving back to the country was as important as asking for one’s rights. He maintained that secretariat employees should work with more dedication for their capacity building through workshops and training courses.