ISLAMABAD: Employees of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have threatened to stage a pen-down strike if their demands for improved reward schemes, fair criteria, equitable resource distribution, and other employment rights are not met.
As per a letter dispatched on January 24 to chairman FBR Rashid Mahmood Langrial, the employees enlisted their demands that, they said, should be accepted at any cost.
“If the grievances are not addressed promptly, the employees may be compelled to consider a pen-down strike, ceasing all work-related activities until our demands are met”, the letter reads.
The employees pinned hopes with the chairman for his personal interest in this issue. “We sincerely hope that you will give the matter your personal attention and take steps to ensure fairness and inclusively in the reward and other benefit system,” they said in the letter, adding that we remain hopeful that under your leadership, FBR will recognise and reward the contributions of all its employees equally, fostering and motivated a united workforce.
The employees, posted at regional tax office Rawalpindi, submitted to the head of the department that they are facing many kind of discriminatory practices regarding allocation of rewards, benefits and allowances that favor cadre officers over non-cadre officer and staff.
Role of non-cadre officer (captain) is undeniably significant, the letter recalls, adding that it was crucial to acknowledge that captain alone can’t perform without concerted effort and dedication of the entire team. “Each team member from BPS-1 onwards plays key role in FBR and its field formation to secure the financial borders of Pakistan and contribute to achieve the budgetary targets,” it added.
The FBR authorities have stopped the performance allowance of non-cadre staffers, which lamented by in the letter. Furthermore, they added, the disparity in benefits being provided to cadre officers and non- cadre officers, inspectors and other staff members, who are equally engaged in achieving the organization’s subjective, was highly discriminatory.
While highlighting their POL issue, the FBR staffers said that cadre officers receive fuel payments from the common POL pool, whereas non-cadre officers who are assigned critical field duties such as broadening of the tax base, Tajir dost scheme, 40B of sales tax, or bank attachments, are not provided the same facility. “They are bound to expense it from their own pocket resultantly they face difficulty to meet their own monthly expenses from the given salary by the government,” the decried.
Moreover, they also highlighted that deprivation from laptops and I-Pads despite the fact that the field staffers are actively and equality perform duties on ground which his hampers the efficiency and productivity of the non-cadre workforce.
Promoted officers are also neither provided official vehicles nor they granted any additional facilities including.
The captain staffers are also not entitled to the allowance that the cadre officers are. “they have been granted a 140 per cent allowance whereas non-cadre officers and staff, who work equally hard to meet budgetary targets and uplift the image of FBR, are not provided equitable financial recognition,” reads the letter.
Holding DPCs for promotions of captain are also in facing long delay. As per a notification, meetings of DPCs were supposed to be held twice in a year. No implantation of directives issued by the board is implanted by the board staff. Resultantly, there is more disappointment among the Officers waiting for their promotions.
The reward scheme exclusively benefits cadre officers of grades 17-22, disregarding the hard work and dedication of employees in grades 1-18.
