ISLAMABAD  -   The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Tuesday rejected the federal government’s proposed 7 percent and 10 percent increase in pensions and salaries, calling it “anti-worker” and “anti-people.”

Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, senior PPP leader and Incharge of the PPP Labour Bureau, strongly criticized the federal budget in response to the Finance Minister Mohammed Aurangzeb’s speech.

Speaking to journalists, Manzoor Ahmed said the federal budget has completely ignored the working class and salaried segments, as well as the key recommendations proposed by the PPP.

He pointed out that there has been no increase in the minimum wage or the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) pensions, nor were any meaningful relief measures introduced for workers and pensioners.

“The proposal to limit family pension to just 10 years after the pensioner’s death is not only absurd but inhumane,” he remarked. “Are the elderly expected to survive on air after that?”

He also criticized the continuation of the privatization of national institutions, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), calling it an unwise and detrimental policy.

“We demand the government immediately reconsider the budget proposals and announce a minimum 50% increase in salaries and pensions, along with the merger of all ad-hoc allowances into basic pay, as was done by PPP during its tenure.”

The PPP leader also demanded 100% increase in EOBI pensions, which currently stands at just Rs10,000 per month, and urged the government to raise house rent and conveyance allowances in line with prevailing market rates.

The PPP leader announced that the PPP Labour Bureau would present all these concerns to the party’s top leadership. “We will urge them to oppose the Finance Bill in its current form and prevent its passage through Parliament,” he added.