Pakistan: Unions shut down Balochistan government workers’ strike as state threatens crackdown
A two-week strike by thousands of long-exploited government sector workers in Pakistan’s Balochistan province was shut down by an alliance of trade unions last Friday following a court order declaring their job action “illegal.”
The strikers, who are confronting menacing threats of state repression, are demanding a pay hike of 25 percent, and allowances like those paid provincial government workers in other provinces. The demand for higher wages resonates among working people across the country, who are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living skyrockets.