Over 100 FBR officers submit leave intimations to protest pay disparities

LAHORE: More than 100 officers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have submitted leave intimations to lodge their protest against salary disparity with their fellow batch mates from other services, said sources.

“This is a mass movement on the part of FBR officers,” said a source, adding that leave intimations had been submitted from all the field formations across the country.

“The low salary, lack of basic perquisites, denial of executive allowance @150% of the basic salary and de-freezing of Internal Job Posting (IJP), unfulfilled promise of the implementation of Common Pool Fund (CPF), delay in rewards and promotions has resulted in significant issues for us,” said the leave intimations submitted by the officers.

According to a few intimations from the field formations of Islamabad, Karachi and Islamabad, available with Business Recorder, the tax officers have submitted them from 8th of May until 30th of June 2023.

The reason for the request has been described as the ‘ongoing issue of extremely low salary against the skyrocketing inflation in the country over the past few months.

The officers have expressed their inability to make their both ends meet with the amount of salary they are earning at present, adding that they are living hand to mouth as the amount of salaries barely fulfill the basic needs of their families, causing a continuous financial stress and mental health issues for them.

It is also worth noting that a good number of hard working officers are not looking for a transfer from their over-occupied posts to those with less responsibility in order to get rid of mental and physical stress.

The FBR offices have pointed out in their leave intimations that they have been highlighting the issue to their seniors but to no avail. They have further mentioned that they are not being provided with any other perquisite like fuel, accommodation, transportation, which is being provided to their fellow batch mates from other services.

They said an executive allowance @150% of the basic salary was granted to the employees of other cadres while the employees of Inland Revenue Service have been deprived once again. Also, they said, no implementation of Common Pool Fund (CPF) has been made from 1st March 2023 despite a clear promise made by the Board high-ups.

These officers are of the view that it has become essential for them to take some time off to address the matter and explore potential solutions to get a fair and reasonable compensation to their contributions. Therefore, they have decided to submit leave intimations.

Meanwhile, the Board has directed chief commissioners to listen to the complaints of junior officers and give them hope for something good. But the junior officers consider the FBR was not serious in resolving their issues, said sources.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023