Punjab Information Commission staff on strike

LAHORE: The officers and staff of the Punjab Information Commission have refused to work in protest against the lack of service structure and understaffing leading to overwork and frustration.

According to sources, the commission was established in March 2014 under Article 19A of the Constitution and Right to Information Act 2013 to provide access to information to the public.

The Punjab government through a notification on 29th December 2014 approved a 47-member staff of the commission (one grade 19, three grade 18, nine grade 17, five grade 16, one grade 15, five grade 14, three grade 12, one grade 11. 1, 6 posts of grade 4 and nine posts of grade I).

However, the government did not allow the recruitment of these approved posts from March 2014 to March 2017 due to which the commission had no option but to work by recruiting seven people (matriculates) on daily wages. From April 2017 to May 2018, recruitment could not be done due to the non-appointment of information commissioners.