day before Christmas, the rundown streets of Christian Town - the oldest Christian settlement of the city just a kilometre west of the Clock Tower, remain sparse bearing no signs of festivity; there are no decorations, trinkets or lights.

The only dash of colour is brought to the neighbourhood by little boys. Sporting bright-coloured jackets and jeans bought from thrift shops, these boys scamper about, huddling in groups of two and three to talk excitedly about Christmas.

Apart from this one sign of festivity, the town is unaffected by preparations for the occasion that is celebrated with greate joy and enthusiasm by Christians around the world. The elderly look bereft. They sit outside their homes, soaking up the sun and staring at pedestrians.

Christian Town was settled over a century ago. Its residents have lived here for generations, through thick and thin. Their small houses bear the mark of time; discoloured walls with pealing plaster and rotting doors.

Outside some huts, middle-aged men and women sit on dilapidated chairs and cots, budgeting for Christmas with sombre faces.

Most of them are employed as waste management workers in the Faisalabad Waste Management Company. Until a few days ago, most of their time was spent in a sit-in protest outside the deputy commissioner’s office. The protest started on December 6 over non-payment of salaries and arrears to waste workers by the FWMC.

Iftikhar Masih, a 45-year-old resident of Christian Town, also participated in the protest. He tells The News on Sunday that the workers are owed three salaries. “The outstanding wages include dues for November, an advance salary for December and a month’s additional salary as compensation for annual leave,” he says.

“In July 2023, the Punjab government fixed the minimum salary at Rs 32,000. However, we have not been paid the revised salary for the last six months,” says Masih. “Each worker is owed between Rs 100,000 and Rs 150,000 by the FWMC,” he estimates.

“We’re a family of eight; me, my elderly parents, my wife, two sons and two daughters. I’m the sole breadwinner,” he tells TNS. “I’ve been running the household by borrowing from friends and relatives for the last two months,” he continues.

“We are starving. The shopkeepers have stopped lending to us and electricity has been cut off in many homes due to non-payment of electricity bills,” he says, answering a question about Christmas preparations. “How can we even think about preparing for Christmas amid all this?” he says.

“It is true that Christmas is an occasion to celebrate. It is one of the holiest days in our faith. But almost every year, instead of being able to enjoy it, we end up on the streets, demanding our salaries,” he complains.

“When Eid is around the corner, the government steps in to ensure that the employees are paid an advance salary,” says Masih “…but when our Eid arrives, it occurs to nobody that we may need money to celebrate it,” he says dejectedly.

Masih says that earlier, the district administration had promised to clear the salaries and arrears by December 15. When that did not happen, they staged a protest demonstration in front of the deputy commissioner’s office.

“On December 19, the district administration promised that all dues owed to the protesting employees would be paid over the next two days. But even today, many of us are waiting for our salaries,” he says.

“I have received only one salary [Rs.25,000] so far. That is less than new minimum wage,” says Masih. “I’ve already spent it. Some bills and loans were overdue,” he adds, “We were told the second salary has also been transferred but I still haven’t received it.”

“It is true that Christmas is an occasion to celebrate. It is one of the holiest days in our faith. But almost every year, instead of being able to enjoy it, we end up on the streets, demanding our salaries.”

50-year-old Naziran Bibi, another resident of Christan Town, is also employed as a waste worker in the FWMC. A few years ago, her husband passed away. She lives in a rented house with her two daughters and a son.

“I’m depressed. Doubly depressed, so to speak. I’m not sure if or when I’ll be paid and that’s adding to my anxiety. And then, there are my children. It’s the holiday season but we’re not able to celebrate it because we don’t have the money to. Not being able to fulfil my children’s wishes is stressing me out,” says Bibi.

“Ever since the month began, my children have been asking me ‘Mother, when will we go shopping for clothes and shoes and presents for Christmas.’ I have been stalling by saying we’d go a few days before Christmas. But we haven’t been able to go,” she says. “How can we prepare for Christmas when we barely have enough to eat,” she adds.

“Preparations for Christmas begin on the first Sunday of December, called the Advent Sunday. The tradition of lighting lamps in churches and homes, decorating Christmas trees and distributing gifts among children on this occasion is centuries-old. Our poverty has robbed us of these joys,” Bibi tells TNS.

“I wish the government had paid us our salaries in full before our religious festivals. As citizens, we have equal rights in Pakistan,” she says.

FWMC Deputy Information Officer Muteeb Virk says the delay in payment of salaries is due to non-provision of funds.

“The monthly salaries come to more than Rs 150 million. The funds are released every three months by the Punjab government in the form of supplementary grants.”

“The total number of FWMC employees is 4,500. 4,000 of them are waste workers. A majority of them belong to the Christian community,” says Virk. “About fifty per cent of these workers are permanent employees of the company. The rest work against daily wages,” he adds.

Virk says the waste workers were paid half their salary last month for the extra duty on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. The arrears of two months’ salary, compensation for annual leaves and an increase in the minimum wage were not paid.

“50 per cent of the dues were paid over the last two days. The remaining will be paid next month subject to availability of funds,” he says.

Lala Robin Daniel, chairman of the National Minorities Alliance, says that the problem has persisted ever since the FWMC was established. “This is a recurrent issue. Waste workers are never paid on time; not for Eid, not for Christmas or Easter,” he says.

“The FWMC officers are paid hefty salaries. They may also have alternative sources of income. The poor waste workers earn peanuts in comparison and are not paid on time,” says Daniel.

Daniel says, eight years ago sanitation workers working under the Municipal Corporation were transferred to the FWMC which was expected to have its own revenue stream. “The workers were told that they would be paid salaries as well as get other benefits and facilities out of its income,” he says.

“Eight years have passed but the FWMC has yet to develop a revenue model. A project to produce electricity from trash has been in the pipeline. It hasn’t started yet either,” adds Daniel.

“The problem has persisted. Back when the sanitation workers were employed by the Municipal Corporation, they would be paid on time. Ever since they have been transferred to the FWMC, they have had to protest for their salaries almost every other month,” he says.

“The contribution of these sanitation workers is invaluable. They keep the city clean, come summer or winter. And yet, their legitimate demands are ignored,” says Daniel. “A majority of these workers belong to the Christian community, which faces discrimination in every sector. If they don’t get their salaries on time, they will never have the confidence that they are equal citizens,” he says.

The writer has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets @ naeemahmad876