Hyderabad Education Protests: 28-Month Salary Freeze Sparks Outcry

For the 14th day, Hyderabad Education Department's lower-grade employees protest at the Press Club over unpaid salaries pending for 28 months. Hired in 2023, they demand immediate government action. A parallel protest by Sindh RO Plant Operators highlights wage disparities below the provincial minimum wage, urging intervention.

For a successive 14 days, lower-grade employees from the Hyderabad Education Department have been protesting at the Hyderabad Press Club, calling for the settlement of their overdue salaries, which have been on hold for almost 28 months, as reported by The Express Tribune. The frustrated demonstrators, financially strained, are holding a hunger strike while appealing for justice and timely wage disbursement.

The protesters revealed they were recruited in 2023 following a 2021 hiring drive. Despite meeting all legal requirements, 669 employees across various schools remain unpaid, causing severe financial distress. Protest leaders, including Gulab Rand, Asad Mall, and Syed Moazzam Ali Shah, claim the government's inaction has driven workers to desperation, unable to manage basic expenses or sustain their families. They vow to persist until the Sindh government resolves the issue.

In a separate protest, Sindh RO Plant Operators Association members also assembled at the Hyderabad Press Club under the guidance of Liaquat Chandio, Imdad Sand, and Yaqub Shoro. These workers, employed since 2012 by the Public Health Engineering Department, are paid only PKR 25,000 monthly, significantly lower than the provincial minimum of PKR 40,000. The protesters demand revised salaries in line with labor regulations, condemning the current pay structure as 'economic exploitation.' They urge PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for urgent intervention.

These concurrent protests highlight the enduring dysfunction and neglect within Sindh's public sectors. Persistent administrative inertia and wage inequality continue to escalate socio-economic grievances among government workers, as highlighted by The Express Tribune.

(With inputs from agencies.)