Low-paid employees strike continues: VCs urge KP govt to release funds for salary and pension

PESHAWAR: Amid strike by the Class-III and Class-IV employees of the universities, the vice-chancellors of the four public sector universities on Monday urged the provincial government to release the necessary funds for paying salary to the staff and pension increases.

They made the request as they met on the greater campus here to discuss and address the financial and administrative challenges to their institutions. The ongoing protest has brought the universities’ affairs to a standstill. The protest campaign is also supported by the teaching staff of the four universities.

The protesting employees demand an increase in their salaries as per the raise announced by the government in the budget.

The meeting was attended by Prof. Dr. Iftikhar Hussain, the vice-chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Idrees, the VC of the University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Jehan Bakht, the VC of the University of Agriculture, and Prof. Dr. Gul Majid Khan, VC of the Islamia College University.

The participants noted that the main demand of the employees was related to the payment of the salary and pension increase that was announced by both the federal and provincial governments in their budget 2023-24.

They said that they had asked the provincial government to provide funds for paying the increase but to no avail.The VCs urged the provincial government to release the necessary funds for paying the salary and pension increases.

They appealed to the employees to call off the strike and return to their duties for the sake of the students, staff, the universities and the society at large.

The VCs decided to meet the governor, chief minister and chief secretary to discuss the financial and administrative issues of the four universities and request them to take personal interest in resolving the problem.