Pakistan Steel Mills, ignoring the directive of the Ministry of Industries and Production, has regularised 4738 employees, putting additional burden of Rs 25 million per month, while it is facing severe financial crisis.
Sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the management of PSMC has allotted personal numbers to all daily wages and contract employees, expected to be over 60 years of age on September 3, 2010, after which they can avail all benefits of a regular employee.
With confirmation of these employees, overall workforce of PSMC has reached 10,000, besides some 5000 officers. Pakistan Steel for past two years has been facing huge financial crisis. Therefore, in December last, the Ministry of Industries and Production had linked the regularisation process with better financial position, and had instructed Corporation to process this matter after financial improvement.
"PSM has sustained heavy losses during last financial year 2008-09 and also has acute financial crunch; therefore PSMC is advised to process this case (regularisation) at appropriate time, keeping in view the financial health of the organisation, when its financial condition improved," said a letter sent by Kausar Asalm Pervaiz, Section Officer, Ministry of Industries and Production, to CEO, Pakistan Steel, on December 17, 2009.
In addition, Pakistan Steel management had also linked the confirmation of regularisation with bailout package of Rs 25 billion, committed by federal government, for the financial support of Pakistan Steel. However, so far commitment is not fulfilled by the federal government and PSMC is being forced to obtain loans from banks to open letter of credit for import of raw material.
"In May 2010, when the Minister for Industries and Production, Hazar Khan Bijrani, distributed letters among these daily wage workers, it was clearly mentioned in the letters that this regularisation is subject to approval of bailout package," sources said.
Although, the federal government has not transferred whole amount of bailout package, due to which PSMC financial condition has still not improved and the sales are continually declining, the management of Pakistan Steel, ignoring the cleat-cut instruction of ministry, has regularised some 4738 daily wages/contract employees, which would result in additional burden of Rs 25 million per month on PSMC books. Sources said that in the last PSMC board meting, some board members also showed their concerns on the regularisation of daily wages employees and decided to discuss the issue in next board meeting scheduled to be held in October 2010.
"According to ministry directive, PSMC may regularise its daily wages workers, when it can afford, and now we can afford expenses of these employees. Therefore, in the light of ministry directives we have regularised over 4700 daily wages workers," said Imtiaz Ahmed Khan Lohdi, acting Chief Executive Officer of PSMC. He said that these types of actions are necessary in the tenure of democratic government and it would result in only Rs 25 million per month burden on PSMC.
"Although our sales presently are on decline, these are expected to surge from Monday, and PSMC would be a profitable organisation by the end of December 2010," he added. He said that some of daily wages workers were working for past 18 years and it was commitment with workers by the minister of industries and production.
Comments
Comments are closed.