LAKKI MARWAT: Workers of the Lakki Marwat tehsil municipal administration have warned that they will stage a protest sit-in outside the provincial assembly in Peshawar on Dec 4 against the non-payment of salary and pension. TMA workers union president Haji Anwar Kamal Khan told reportershere on Thursday that he along with other leaders met the deputy commissioner and apprised him of the problems facing workers. Accompanied by other employees, Mr Kamal said the employees had not been paid salaries for four months, while former workers hadn’t been paid pension for seven months. He alleged that the tehsil municipal officer threatened workers of dire consequences when they announced the boycottof municipal services provided to residents. Say they’ll stage sit-in outside PA on Dec 4 The union leader said that theTMO was also involved in “using his handpicked” employees against their protesting colleagues. He said that employees of municipal administrations across the province held demonstrations against Lakki TMO for threatening their colleagues. “The municipal services will remain suspended till the acceptance of our demands regarding payment of salaries and pension and transfer of the tehsil municipal officer from Lakki Marwat,” he said. When contacted, Lakki Marwat TMO Kiramatullah said he was aware of the misery of employees who had not received salaries for some months. He said that he was making strenuous efforts to get the salary issue resolved without delay. The tehsil municipal officer rejected the allegations of threatening employees and said union leader Anwar Kamal was using municipal workers to serve his own interests. He also alleged that Anwar Kamal forcibly stopped sanitation vehicles from plying in the area and when he tried to talk to him in that respect, he incited workers to protest. Meanwhile, pro-TMO employees also held a news conference and said “so-called” union leader Anwar Kamal had blocked the provision of services, including drinking water and cleanliness, to people in the urban locality. They said that the union leader had got the protest initiated by employees to cover up his “embezzlement” in the amounts collected from the cattle fair, water charges and entry fee. The employees added that when the tehsil municipal officer asked Anwar Kamal to deposit the amount in bank accounts, the latter gave a call for protest sit-in.