Low-grade employees of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), including auditors, inspectors, and superintendents in grades BS-1 to BS-16, have launched a protest demanding equal access to the newly introduced performance management scheme and an equitable distribution of rewards and allowances, Business Recorder reported.
The employees are particularly dissatisfied with the exclusion of their cadre from the new performance rewards system, which has been extended only to officers in BS-17 and above. Their demands include a share in the common pool fund, performance-based rewards, and the de-freezing of the special allowance, which has been pending since 2013.
According to the news report, the agitation took a dramatic turn on Monday when FBR officers from the Administration Wing allegedly threatened the protesting staff, warning them with statements like, “We will see you!” instead of addressing their concerns.
Despite this, the protests intensified, with employees staging a pen-down strike at FBR headquarters and holding rallies across regional offices in various cities.
The protest highlighted a growing discontent among the FBR workforce, as approximately 85% of the total staff, around 16,550 employees out of 28,000, fall under grades BS-1 to BS-16. The workers argued that the performance rewards and allowances should be distributed equitably across all ranks and not just among the senior officers in BS-17 and above.
In response to the protests, the FBR issued an SRO (704/I/2024) on Monday, announcing that monetary rewards would be granted to the cadre officers of the Pakistan Customs Service (BS-17 and above) as per their ranking under the performance management plan approved by the FBR Board.
However, the employees in lower grades remained unsatisfied, criticizing the exclusion of their cadre from this scheme.
The protesters’ three main demands focus on the unjust distribution of the common pool fund, the de-freezing of the performance allowance, and a revision of the reward rules to ensure that all employees, regardless of grade, are eligible for performance-based incentives.
As the protests continue, the FBR is under increasing pressure to address the grievances of its workforce and ensure a fair distribution of rewards and allowances across all employee grades.
