KOTLI (Kashmir English): Staff members from different departments of government conducted a street demonstration before the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government despite wet weather conditions, government employees protested and disrupted their workplace duties to take part in the march while raising voices against pension reforms and other objectionable policies through their chants.
The protest’s leader Sardar Gulfaraz Khan as president of the All Employees Federation commenced his rally amid rain which cut through multiple areas of the city. The protest ended inside the building of Government Boys Degree College when leaders spoke to the demonstrators.
As noted by Sardar Gulfaraz Khan during the gathering he conveyed to the audience that employees would continue their actions until their requested terms were accepted. According to him, the employees under any condition would not agree to the newly approved pension reforms. He called for immediate job regularisation of both ad-hoc employees and work-charge staff because these public servants needed assurance of their position.
He displayed frustration about the government’s handling of worker rights because employees would take their protest to a full work stoppage unless their demands received attention. The speaker demanded immediate attention from the AJK Prime Minister to ensure the proper fulfilment of employee rights.
Across departments in the district, numerous staff members joined the protest as the All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) organized the main effort. Lady health Workers (LHWs) together with Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) participated strongly in the protest to express their dissatisfaction with job vulnerability and the disrespectful treatment they received.
The All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) is a nationwide organisation of government employees, clerks, community members, official staff, and lower staff (BPS-1 to BP-16/17). This group includes both technical and non-technical government and semi-government employees, as well as a suppressed class of employees who play important roles in the government machinery with professionalism, dedication, and dignity. The APCA has long worked to raise the financial, moral, and social standing of the aforementioned group of government workers.
Workers maintain their ongoing protest against government policies because they will not halt their fight even though no resolution has been reached yet. The demonstrators maintain a state of increased stress while they await answers from the responsible authorities.
