Sindh public service offices have been shut down, and demonstrators are boycotting hospitals’ OPDs because thousands of government workers are protesting changes to their pensions, pay raises, group insurance, and more. The strike will go on until the demands are met.
Under the umbrella of the Sindh Employees Alliance (SEA), government workers all over Sindh are on strike. This has shut down schools, hospitals, public service offices, and other government facilities, including irrigation, agriculture, and development authorities’ offices. They are protesting due to the policies and legislation making their financial security and benefits uncertain.
The All-Sindh Employees Alliance called for a sit-in protest in the Sindh province, where all government office workers closed the doors and sat down. They chanted slogans asking the government to deal with their problems.
The Irrigation Office at Khairpur was completely shut down. The members and leadership of the All Pakistan United Irrigation Employees Federation (APUIEF) and the Pakistan Workers Federation Sindh marched from the office to the Press Club. Thousands of workers from various affiliations took part in the protest at the Press Club, which was against what they call employee-unfriendly policies by the Sindh Government.
On September 23, the Sindh University Employees Association, together with other staff and leaders, organized rallies, demonstrations, and work stoppages to protest pension cuts, the removal or decrease of group insurance, unfair deductions in pension, and other issues.
The core demands of the Sindh Employees Alliance (SEA) are
- Reversal of Pension Cut / Restoration of Old Pension Rules
- Increase in Salaries & Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA)
- Timely Payment of Group Insurance, Benevolent Fund, and No Pension Deductions
- One of the demands is restoring or maintaining job quotas for heirs of employees who have passed away
Muhammad Azam, the chairman of the All Pakistan United Irrigation Employees Federation (APUIEF), said, “The Sindh government demands to understand that it can’t give justice to citizens if it doesn’t give fairness to its workers.” Taking away pensions, not giving workers their rights, and cutting their pay is nothing short of economic murder. We will bring lakhs of workers to Karachi and sit in front of Bilawal House until our demands are met.He reaffirmed that being the affiliates of Public Services International-PSI, together with employees from other sectors, would continue the fight until the government withdraws its anti-worker policies and accepts their legitimate demands.
The Taluka Bar Association Thari Mirwah strongly supported the Sindh Employees Alliance and spoke out against anti-worker policies that threaten the dignity, livelihood, and constitutional protections of public servants across Sindh.
The Bar Association asked for the urgent removal of anti-pension and anti-labor laws, the establishment of compensation structures that keep up with inflation, and the regularization of all contract workers. Peaceful protest is a basic constitutional right, and the voices of Sindh’s workers, such as teachers, clerks, doctors, paramedics, municipal workers, and many others, must be heard and respected through dialogue, fairness, and real change, not repression.It also asked the media, civil society, and lawyers to speak up for workers’ demands and against what they called institutional injustice.