News Story

Islamabad— The Federal  and Punujab Government employees working in the Libraries at Islamabad has threatened to go on protest if its demands are not met by March 30. The Library Science degree holders Cataloguers and Classifiers had presented the charter of demands to the Establishment Division, Finance Division, Ministry of Law, and Ministry of Human Rights, Department of Libraries and Ministry of Education and other federal authorities on January 2012.

The key demands of the Cataloguers is to have their pay packages brought at par with their counterparts in Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Islamabad. The charter also includes regularization of all Cataloguers and Classifiers working on contractual basis, increase in their house rent allowance and shifting control of the education department from the district administration to the provincial government.

Islamabad Cataloguers and Classifiers Association President Shaji Ahmed said that despite assurances, the Federal government has thus far “failed to meet their demands”.  He said that Cataloguers  across the province would come on the streets to push their demands and get rights from the authorities just as doctors and nurses did.

Shahji Ahmed maintained that contract employees whose services have been regularized on the directives of the Supreme Court should be regularized from their dates of appointment rather than the date of the court order.

He said that the Cataloguers and Classifiers protest would start from first of 15 March and converge on Islamabad from across the country on March 20.

Shahi Ahmed cited discrimination in basic scale of Cataloguers of Punjab and Islamabad. He said that the basic pay scale of a Cataloguer in the federal area is BPS-17 and BS-18 whereas in Punjab it is BPS-14. “Due to difference in the pay scale, Cataloguers in Punjab are getting Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000 less than Cataloguers  in other parts of the country. This difference also affects all allowances including house rent and medical,” he added.