MUZAFFARABAD, March 31: Let down by what they say red tape in the headquarters of Pakistan Television Corporation, the daily wagers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir Television (AJKTV) centre have now pinned hopes on the new government in Islamabad for a better future of theirs.

The AJKTV centre was launched four years ago on February 5, the Kashmir Solidarity Day, to “promote Kashmiri culture on the one hand and counter Indian propaganda on Kashmir on the other.” However, insiders allege, it’s being treated by the PTV bosses more as a liability than as a budding member of the so-called PTV family, which has greatly marred its performance.

While the centre faced a number of hitches including the acute shortage of human resource, a sizable portion of its existing staff was in low spirits for being offered minimal daily wages, notwithstanding their pleas for a permanent and dependable source of income, Dawn had learnt during a survey.

According to sources, only 10 out of 75 existing staff were regular employees, 32 were ‘resource persons’ while the rest were daily wagers, being paid a paltry amount, varying between Rs200 to 300, on daily basis. The remunerations were, however, deducted on weekly and other holidays and no overtime was paid even if they performed duties on day offs and beyond regular office hours.

While speaking to this correspondent, an employee on daily wages said that the case for their conversion as ‘resource persons’ in their respective cadres had been sent to the PTV headquarters long ago “but it was greeted there by the proverbial red tape.”

A resource person, according to sources, is entitled to receiving full monthly salary, overtime, if any, medical allowance and some yearly paid leave.

Sources claimed that majority of appointments in PTV were being made as resource persons but this principle was not being applied to the AJKTV. “This is a glaring example of discrimination meted out to us. Many of us are as old in service as is this (AJKTV) centre itself but we have been denied job and salary security,” said the daily wager, seeking anonymity.

“Ours is a hard station. But, instead of rewarding us for working in dismal conditions, they are aggravating our miseries,” he regretted.

The aggrieved employee claimed that the conversion of AJKTV daily wagers into ‘resource persons’ had no major financial implications but that cut no ice with the PTV high-ups who were favouring their favourites in other stations with exorbitant pay packages.

“The conversion of 32 daily wagers into resource persons involves an additional spending of hardly Rs100,000 per month but the PTV bosses are sitting on this file while on the other hand some (of the) directors draw nearly 250,000 each per month,” he said.

However, the speech of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, after obtaining unanimous vote of confidence from the National Assembly on Saturday, had rekindled the hopes of daily wagers in the AJKTV. “All of us are very much hopeful that the pro-people government will come to our rescue and address this issue so that we are able to secure a dependable source of income for our families,” one of them said.

When contacted by Dawn, AJKTV general manager Ishtiaq Hussain also confirmed that the demand of daily wagers was justified and needed to be met on compassionate grounds.

“I have been taking up their case with the headquarters from time to time. And I have been told that it’s under process,” he said.