Sindh government, on Wednesday, unveiled a Rs 1.24 trillion tax-free budget with a deficit of Rs18.38 billion for the fiscal year 2020-21, only 1.9 percent increase from the last year budget estimates of Rs.1.21 trillion.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of provincial finance minister, presented the budget before the provincial assembly amid protest from opposition parties. In his budget speech, CM Shah announced that the salaries of Grade 1-16 government employees would be increased by 10 percent, while those of Grade 17-21 would receive a 5 percent raise. The upward revision, however, would not be applicable to provincial ministers and Sindh cabinet, he added.
Notably, PTI members walked out to protest the little raise in the salaries. However, it is pertinent to mention here that PTI’s federal government did not raise the salaries of government employees at all in the budget.
The workers wait for a long year for a negligible pay raise in the budget but it was sad to say that even this was denied in the budget this year. The distressed workers expressed their sheer disappointment over the federal government’s indifference towards the plight of salaried class, especially lower-grade employees who were already finding it too difficult to make two ends meet.
Salient features of Sindh Budget:
10pc increase in salaries of govt employees
• Rs34.2bn social protection package
• Health, education budgets raised by over 16pc, 10pc
• Risk allowance for health personnel fighting Covid-19
• Rs440m allocated for locust control
