PESHAWAR
Project employees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have urged the provincial government to immediately revise their pay packages in line with the federal government’s latest notification, warning that a growing disparity in salaries was causing serious concern among the workforce.
In an appeal addressed to the chief minister and chief secretary, project employees have called for an urgent review of their compensation structure, which has remained unchanged since 2022. They argue that the lack of revision over the past four years has led to a widening gap between provincial and federal salary scales.
According to official documents, the federal government issued a revised standard pay package for project employees on March 5, 2026, which is scheduled to take effect from July 1, 2026. However, no corresponding amendments have been introduced in KP, where the 2022 package continues to be implemented.
A comparative analysis highlights significant discrepancies across all Project Pay Scales (PPS). In lower grades, the gap amounts to several thousand rupees, while in higher grades, the difference ranges from Rs100,000 to as much as Rs450,000.
For instance, under PPS-1 (BPS 1–4), the federal minimum salary has been set at Rs37,800, compared to Rs25,000 in KP, a difference of Rs12,800. In PPS-6 (BPS 16), the federal salary stands at Rs141,750, while the provincial figure remains Rs75,000, reflecting a gap of Rs66,750.
The disparity becomes more pronounced in senior positions. In PPS-8 (BPS 18), the federal salary is Rs295,320, compared to Rs150,000 at the provincial level, a difference of Rs145,320. Similarly, in PPS-12 (BPS 22), the federal package has reached Rs1,050,000, while the provincial salary is approximately Rs600,000, creating a gap of around Rs450,000.
Employees maintain that over the past five years, the federal government and several other provinces have revised project employees’ salaries at least twice. In contrast, no such progress has been made in the province, raising concerns about equity and fair treatment.
The project employees have urged the provincial leadership to take immediate steps to align salaries with federal standards, warning that continued inaction could further exacerbate dissatisfaction among employees.
