ISLAMABAD: Employees of COMSATS University have decided to expand their protest to all seven campuses of the university until their demands are not fulfilled.
The employees have been protesting for past seven days against Rector Professor Muhammad T. Afzal who has not approved Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) issued by the federal government to provide relief to employees.
The protesters have decided to march from Abbottabad, Wah Cantt, Attock, Lahore, Vehari and Sahiwal to Islamabad Main Campus on March 2. The university’s rector who receives a hefty amount of Rs1.7 million per month has not approved the allowances for employees. The university’s employees have been staging protests and sit-ins in support of their demand and also raised slogans against the administration.
It is to be noted that disparity reduction allowances are being paid in all other public sector universities of the country since the approval of the government during the last financial year. However, due financial mismanagement and administrative incompetence, the payments have not been disbursed at COMSATS.
Apart from university employees, teachers, officers and other staff have also joined the protest to express solidarity and concern over financial mismanagement. During the sit-in, the employees have been demanding that the 25% DRA announced last year and the 15% allowance announced for the current fiscal year should be paid without any delay.
The employees further demanded that the action should be taken against the financial mismanagement against the officers involved which receives a comprehensive audit. They said Rector Professor Dr. Muhammad T. Afzal is receiving a hefty salary more than 1.7 million while the Treasurer is still on the job even though his tenure is over.
The protesting employees have decided that if the government and university administration do not accept our demands then they will march from all campuses towards the main campus and widen their protests.
