PESHAWAR: The Class-IV employees have expressed concern over delay in their upgradation and threatened to observe a sit-in outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for acceptance of their demands.

Addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, All Pakistan Class-IV Employees Association president Akbar Khan Mohmand said that the low scale workers were like backbone of the government departments but they were always ignored by the authorities.

`We are forced to work round the clock. We are also asked to work on the off days but our demands pertaining to incentives, promotions and appointments are neglected for the only reason that we are poor and unprivileged,` he said.

Mr Mohmand said that Class-IV employees performed duty for long hours but they were dodged and not promoted to the next grade despite their repeated demands.

`The employees of other cadres are given all the incentives and privileges but Class-IV employees are totally ignored,` he said and added that it was injustice with them.

He said that they would not sit silent.

Accompanied by Class-IV employees from all government departments, Mr Mohmand said that they raised the demand about upgradation at every platform and even met Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan at his residence in Bani Gala and apprised him about it but in vain.

The PTI chief, he claimed, issued directives to the provincial government about their updragation but despite that they were deprived of their rights. The Class-IV employees of all departments announced a peaceful protest for their upgradation, he added.

Mr Mohmand said that the Class-IV employees of different departments had promised to continue the sit-in till acceptance of their demands.

He said that they would start holding protest demonstrations from April 6 in Peshawar, Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Lalcki Marvat, Mardan, Mansehra, Upper Dir, Swat, Bannu, Haripure, Lower Dir, Buner, Battagram, Chitral, Malakand and Nowshera.

Mr Mohmand said that Class-IV employees would come from all districts of the province and hold a grand meeting at Government Higher Secondary School No-lin Peshawar on April 28.