Dozens of employees of the Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) held a demonstration in Kabul on Sunday to protest unpaid salaries, saying that they have not received their salaries for the past six months.  

But the MoPW said these employees were working based on contracts in the NTA section of the ministry—which had been ended based on a decree of the former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, who left Afghanistan. The decree was being enforced up to July 27 of 2021, according to the MoPW.  

“Of course, the appointment of 180 employees has been authorized based on the new scheme of the MoPW,” said Hameedullah Musbah, a spokesman for the MoPW.  

The protestors claiming to be the active employees of the MoPW said they are struggling with a deteriorated economic condition. 

“We call on the Islamic Emirate to pay us our salaries. We have a family to take care of. I am a 40-year-old engineer,” said Najibullah, a protestor.  

“We have two wishes from the government. First, our salaries, and second, to recognize that we are educated people and we have served this country--give us a job,” a protestor said.   

The protestors said that they have worked for many years in the MoPW and since the Islamic Emirate came to power their careers have plunged into uncertainty.   

The employees said they have appealed to many government institutions to seek their rights, but they have yet received a positive response from the government.  

With the fall of the former Western-backed government, the employees of many government institutions have remained unpaid for a long period of time. However, the government has been gradually paying the overdue salaries of some employees.  

Also many government employees have been dismissed within the past six months.