MITHI
Hundreds of Sindh government employees gathered outside the deputy commissioner s office on Monday to protest against the provincial government s recently announced pension reforms and demand their reversal.
The demonstration, organised under the Sindh Employees Alliance (SEA), was part of an ongoing pen-down and tools-down strike. Representatives of health, education, Works and Services and other departments.
Union leaders said around 600,000 registered Sindh government employees were affected, yet the PPP leadership appeared unaware of the ground realities. They recalled that the campaign began in June and had now entered a critical phase.
The protesting leaders criticised the government for reducing commutation/gratuity from 63.5pc to 15pc a cut of nearly 47pc leaving newly recruited employees with virtually no retirement benefits. They warned that thousands of staff nearing superannuation would face serious financial crises, as gratuity payments were often relied upon for family needs, weddings, or pilgrimage after retirement.
The reforms, they argued, also undermined support for employees dependents and violated the 1973 Constitution s guarantee of fundamental rights. Referring to a notification issued in November 2024, they opposed the introduction of a contributory pension system under which employees and the government would contribute 10pc and 12pc, respectively a model they said was impractical in Pakistan, unlike in developed countries where basic facilities were heavily subsidised.
They further pointed out that while federal employees received a 70pc Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) and those in KP, Balochistan and Azad Kashmir 60pc Sindh government staff received none. They noted that despite performing additional duties such as census and election assignments, employees were denied fair compensation.
The speakers deplored that the government had raised ministers salaries by 400pc and lawmakers by 200pc, but ignored employees longstanding demands. They also criticised the denial of group insurance, contrasting it with judicial officers pensions amounting to Rs2.7 million.
Protest leaders said the reforms had shattered employees dreams and warned that the government s next step could be the abolition of leave preparatory to retirement (LPR).
