ISLAMABAD: An eight-member Committee headed by Minister for Law and Justice, Dr. Farogh Naseem has held that ad-hoc, temporary, contractual, daily wages or project appointments do not possess any vested right to seek regularization.
According to the Establishment Division, the Federal Cabinet decided to constitute a Committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Law and Justice with reference to regularization of contract/ daily wages staff, working in the Federal Directorate of Education, Islamabad on September 3, 2019. The Committee was tasked to make recommendations to the cabinet after a holistic review of the cases of regularization of contract/ daily wages employees of various Ministries/ Divisions.
However, the executive authority of Advisors to the Prime Minister was challenged in writ petition No. 01 of 2020 and No 1870 of 2020 in Islamabad High Court. The Islamabad High Court adjudicated on the mentioned petitions that “an Advisor to Prime Minister is not a member of the cabinet and cannot participate in the proceedings; hence, he can also not be a member or even chair the committee of the Cabinet.”
In the light of judgment the Federal Cabinet on January 26, 2021 decided to re-constitute the Committee with the following composition: (i) Federal Minister for Law and Justice (Chairman); (ii) Federal Minister Finance and Revenue(Member); (iii) Federal Minister for Railways(Member); (iv) Federal Minister for Power (Member); (v) Advisor to the PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity (Member); (vi) Special Assistant to the PM on Establishment (Member); (vii) Secretary, Establishment Division (Member); and (viii) Secretary Finance (Member).
Subsequently, meetings of the Committee were scheduled for February 18, April 6, April 21, and June 23, 2021 but postponed due to pre-occupations/ non-availability of its Members. However, the Committee in its meeting held on September 8, 2021 decided to examine the issue of regularization from legal perspective before making any conclusions. The Committee delved through recent judgments of the Supreme Court on the interpretation of regularization of daily wages, contract, project employees reported in 2021 SCMR 7376,2021, SCMR 1045, 2021 SCMR 998 ,2021 SCMR 609, 2020 SCMR 2068, 2020 SCMR 507 where it had been categorically held that regularization cannot be claimed as a matter of right.
Additionally, the Chairman of the Committee also pointed out that in the recent judgment Islamabad High Court in Writ Petition No. 3535/ 2016 on August 27, 2021 the court was of the opinion that: “at this stage, this court is governed by the recent pronouncement of the apex court reported as 2021 SCMR 1045 (Government of KPK vs Muhammad Younas) 2021, SCMR 824 (Shahzad Shahmir vs Government of Sindh through Chief Secretary, Karachi), 2021 SCMR 673 (Government of KPK vs. Shahzad lqbal), 2020 SCMR 185 (Muhammad Jawed Hanif Khan vs NAB Sindh), 2020 SCMR 1664 (Pakistan Railways through Chairman, Islamabad vs Sajid Hussain), 2020 SCMR 507 (Province of Punjab through Secretary Agriculture Department, Lahore vs Muhammad Arif), wherein it has been held that project posts/ contractual employees have no right of regularization in service.
In view of recent pronouncements of the apex court petitioners have failed to justify their right for regularization in service; therefore, both the writ petitions stand dismissed.
The Committee headed by the Minister for Law and Justice, after going through the pronouncements of the Superior Court in interpretation of regularization, has concluded in its report that ad-hoc, temporary, contractual, daily wages or project appointments did not possess any vested right to seek regularization.
The Federal Cabinet, in its meeting held on December 21, 2021, noted the recommendations of the Committee.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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