Ad-hoc employees in PoJK protest over unpaid salaries, demand permanent status

Employees working on an ad-hoc basis in various government departments of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) organised a protest in front of the Central Press Club in Muzaffrabad this week, raising complaints over non-payment of salaries and permanence of ad-hoc employees, in their respective departments.

The non-permanent employees said that their families have been the ones to suffer the most in this situation. The demonstrators said that their children have been kicked out of schools due to the stoppage of salaries and family members are often forced to sleep hungry.

“The government is forcing the employees to die of starvation by taking away their jobs,” one of the demonstrators mentioned.

Maqsood Ahmed Abbasi, one of around 270 ad-hoc professors at a local college during the protest said, “I have been giving my services for more than 17 years. Just like me, my colleagues have also given their services ranging from 10 to 30 years but still await our employment benefits. After doing years of service we are not demanding anything bizzare. We are just asking the administration to pay us what we deserve. We have given a long part of our lives to our jobs. The government is supposed to take care of us but they continue to remain ignorant over the matter and is even altering laws that could have worked for employee benefits.”

Another protestor, Raja Akhter Ali Khan, while expressing his views, said, “The employees of these departments have raised their complaints to all the governments that came to power since 1991 but no one has listened to our voices. Some of our brethren have served their respective departments for more than 30 years. Many of them are now retired and still await to get the compensation and the employee benefits they deserve for the years they have served. I don’t understand why the government is not ready to address the problem of employees, who have worked for them for so many years.”

The problem of ad-hoc employment in regions such as PoJK is a long-standing and contentious issue. Ad-hoc employees, hired temporarily without permanent contracts, face job insecurity and often receive lower wages than permanent staff despite performing similar duties. The lack of progress in resolving these issues has led to protests and advocacy efforts by the affected employees.