According to union representatives, serving staff have not received their salaries for the month of July, while retired employees remain deprived of pensions, commutation, encashment, and death grants for the last six months. The non-payment, they say, has pushed hundreds of families to the brink of starvation.
The decision to go on strike was finalized during a meeting of the United Municipal Workers Union, chaired by Ismail Khan and attended by the union’s cabinet members. The union resolved that all CMGP offices would be locked down and employees would stage a protest rally from the main directorate to Assembly Chowk. All municipal services, including sanitation, water supply, and street maintenance, will remain suspended until demands are met.
“August is almost ending, but our families are still without pay,” several employees lamented. They appealed to the provincial government, the minister for local government, the secretary local government, and the secretary local council board to release a special grant immediately. They demanded that the funds be used strictly for salaries and pensions and not diverted elsewhere.
The crisis has been building for months. In June, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Employees Federation had raised concerns over the provincial government’s inadequate release of grants to financially weak local councils. Despite repeated appeals, allocations fell far short of actual requirements.
In an official statement at the time, federation leaders had revealed that the Finance Department had released Rs360.4 million and Rs150 million for settled areas and Rs71 million for merged areas. However, these allocations barely covered the genuine needs of the respective Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs).
Union leaders criticized the provincial authorities for ignoring ground realities, pointing out that approved amounts often fail to match the demands submitted by struggling TMAs. In some cases, the weakest councils received no funds at all.
The consequences have been dire for employees and pensioners alike. Many were unable to receive their dues in time for Eidul Fitr, while others faced the same crisis again during Eidul Azha. The delays deprived them of the means to meet religious and family obligations, including Qurbani.
They warned that unless the government ensures timely and fair disbursement of funds, the lockout and suspension of essential municipal services in Peshawar will continue indefinitely.