ISLAMABAD: Lower-grade members of the federal civil service Thursday closed the entry and exit points of the Pakistan Secretariat in protest over the refusal of the government to accept their demand for increased salaries.
The move came after a series of talks between a representative body and the government failed, prompting the former to take some rigorous measures to press the administration to agree to their demands.
Earlier, the civil servants staged a sit-in on the premises of the Finance Division, and they negotiated with the senior officials of the division for five long hours, but the negotiations ended up in a failure.
It was learnt that heavy contingents of police were deployed to thwart any untoward situation in Islamabad amid continuous sloganeering by the federal government employees that had gathered in large numbers.
Work at federal ministries and other departments and divisions in the Pakistan Secretariat was stopped due to protests by the government employees.
The officers and other employees at the federal government departments could not reach their offices due to the closure of the entry gates of the Pakistan Secretariat.
It is to be noted here the federal government employees have been protesting for three days for a raise in their salaries and allowances due to high inflation and for the acceptance of other demands.
