RAWALPINDI: Hundreds of retired employees of Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Monday staged protest demonstrations outside Rawalpindi Press Club and later outside the corporation building for the delay in disbursement of monthly pensions and in the provision of basic retirement benefits.
The protestors criticised billions spent by the government on development schemes but not paying pensions to deserving and old pensioners promptly.
Talking to a media outlet, Tahir Mahmood Khan, chairman of Pensioners’ Action Committee stated that about 2,669 retired RMC employees had been delayed pension disbursements. Among these 1,957 were retirees of the corporation, 53 of district council, 92 of Parks and Horticulture Authority, 233 of health branch of RMC, and 234 of education branch. Khan added that PHA retirees’ basic pension benefits in lump sum had been pending for the last three years.
Moreover, the monthly payment of pension was also held up, he said. RMC retirees were without pension for last two months and the rest of pensioners were waiting for their dues since last five months.
Later, the representatives of the pensioners had a meeting with Chaudhry Tariq Mahmood, deputy chairman of RMC where the deputy chairman assured pensioners that he would be asking the provincial authorities for sanctioning a special grant for disbursement of pensions.
