The Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP) is facing serious financial problems and has refused to pay salaries to its workers to celebrate Eidul Azha. The PCP has also failed in providing overtime of more then 150 employees for the last three months while the house rent bill for the last six months is also overdue.
"We are working in the government-owned organisation and despite the announcement that all employees of the government and semi-government organisation will get their salaries on January 17, we were informed that there is no salary for PCP workers," an official of the press told Business Recorder.
Rana Muhammad Shafiq, general-secretary of the PCP headquarter union, said that from the last few months PCP workers were receiving salaries on demand and each time the PCP headquarter informed the printing presses to make arrangement for their salaries.
He further said that some 150 workers of Islamabad press have worked overtime for the last three months but were not paid so far.
The people of far-flung areas cannot go to their respective hometowns for celebrating the Eid, he added.
There are three printing presses working under the PCP - Islamabad Printing Press (IPP), Security Printing Press Karachi (SPPK) and Lahore Printing Press (LPP) - and about 1250 people are working in these presses.
Regarding the provision of house rent to workers, the official said that those employees who have hired private accommodation are facing serious problems as home-owners were pressing for the payment of rents not paid since July.
He said most of the house-owners have issued notices to the officials of the PCP.
He said the main reason for the worsening financial condition of the PCP is that, in 2000, the government has changed the printing rules and authorised the principal accounting officer to engage private printers without obtaining NOC from the PCP.
Earlier, all the printing work of the government/semi-government and autonomous bodies was entrusted to the PCP, he added.