SPECIAL EVENTS |
No Pay for Pakistani Christian JanitorsMonday 21 Sep 2009
By Dan Wooding and Sheraz Khurram Khan BAHAWALPUR, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- As another sign of bias against minorities in Pakistan, the Christian janitorial workers of Bahawalpur have been denied salaries during the Muslim Eid (Muslim religious festival) whereas the authority ensured disbursement of salaries to the Muslim staff well ahead of Eid. Angry janitors on Monday, September 21, 2009 staged a protest rally starting from Khairpur crossing and terminating in Alipur. The protesters, wearing black bands around their arms, shouted slogans against Tehsil Municipal authorities and demanded that they be given their salaries. They said they would not work until the salaries were disbursed to them. Christian Advocate Lazar Nayeer from Bahawalpur, who is also member of Tehsil (administrative division) Council, said that in a recent recruitment 173 Muslim sanitary workers were employed on daily wages. The remaining 50 temporary jobs were allocated between Christians and Muslims, with approx 20 of those going to Christians. Supervision of the sanitary work is assigned to Muslims sanitary workers who are actually appointed to do janitorial work, he pointed out. He alleged that the authority has recruited Muslims as “ghost” sanitary workers. Pointing to the stigma attached to the sanitary work in Pakistan, Nayeer said Muslims do not do sanitary work after getting recruited as sanitary workers. “They are often given other jobs like gardening, driving etc.,” he alleged. Nayeer went on to say that those who actually do sanitary work in Bahawalpur are Christians and Hindus. The Christian sanitary workers, he said, have often complained of authority’s discriminatory attitude towards them but their grievances have not been addressed by the authority. He stated that instead of giving permanent jobs to those Christian sanitary workers who are working on daily wages the authority allegedly recruits Muslims in permanent positions. He also stated that the Christian sanitary workers have long been demanding that the Muslim sanitary workers be sacked and their jobs should be given to the people who want to work. He said that most of the Christian sanitary workers are not given their full salaries, alleging that part of their salaries is kept by those who disburse salaries. Professor Anjum James Paul said that sanitary workers, the lowest of the low, in Pakistan are expected to work long hours in general but the Muslim religious festivals mean more work for them. “They work hard without cleaning masks and other sanitation equipment and yet do not get paid on time,” Professor Anjum James Paul told ANS. The absence of masks and other equipment in the past has caused deaths of cleaners, said the human rights activist. “They live in slums in grinding poverty and face acute discrimination from majority Muslims,” said Professor Anjum. Deprived of basic civic and health amenities they become easy victim of religious intolerance, exploitation and oppression, he maintained He said Muslim sanitary workers, in connivance with the municipal authority’s officers, do not work because they want to perpetuate this impression that only the Christians do janitorial work. “If the job is only being advertised for Christians then why do they recruit Muslims and if Muslims are recruited then why they are not directed to do janitorial work?” Mr. Paul asked. He termed it as a conspiracy to fuel impression that Christians are only worthy of janitorial work. |
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