Balochistan workers launch protest campaign

QUETTA: A coalition of government employees’ bodies and trade unions in Balochistan has announced a two-day protest campaign starting on Thursday, along with sit-in camps outside press clubs across the province, to press the government on workers’ demands and protest action taken against employees involved in rights-related struggles.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by the grand alliance of workers’ organisations. Its organiser, Professor Abdul Quddus Kakar, said the province-wide protest would begin on Thursday and added that a sit-in would be held on June 15.

The alliance said it was protesting what it described as government measures against workers taking part in movements for their rights. Professor Kakar also criticised the provincial administration for what he termed its inability to respond to the problems facing workers and the wider public.

Among the alliance’s demands, it called for the minimum wage to be tied to inflation and increased substantially. It also sought an end to pay differences between federal and provincial employees, and demanded equal salaries and benefits for workers serving in the same grades.