The Senate has passed The Sacked Employees Reinstatement Bill 2010 with majority, which would provide relief to persons in corporation service, autonomous or semi-autonomous bodies or in government service, who were dismissed, removed or terminated from service. This Bill has already been passed by the National Assembly.
Those employees would be reinstated, who were politically victimised. The PPP-led government talks about the rights of poor but some people try to sabotage the environment of reconciliation. The sacked employees were kicked out from their jobs without being charge sheeted or served with any show-cause notice. There was no case on any sacked employee rather they were politically victimised and targeted.
The bill would provide relief to persons, who were appointed or reinstated in corporation service or autonomous or semi autonomous bodies or in government service during the period from November 1, 1993 to November 30, 1996 and were dismissed, removed or terminated from service or given forced golden handshake during the period from November 1, 1996 to October 12, 1999.
The two previous governments, sacked employees recruited during Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's second tenure as prime minister. Most of them were from the poor families whose very existence was under threat due to this unexpected sacking and victimisation on political grounds. Approximately 8,000 employees were dismissed, removed or terminated from service, who were appointed during the period from November 1, 1993 to November 30, 1996.
The PPP-led government announced the reinstatement of employees of various public sector enterprises sacked on political grounds and after getting elected it introduced Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance to reinstate these so that no future government could sack them again. After a thorough scrutiny of the cases, the government has reinstated 6,000 employees and the recommendations for the remaining sacked employees have been finalised.
Pakistan Peoples Party presented a pro-worker manifesto for 2008 general elections that promised the restoration of all those rights of the workers that had been usurped during the last authoritarian regime. One of them, which targeted civil servants was by introducing The Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance 2000, which was repealed by an act in 2010. The Peoples government realised the negative impact of this ordinance on the public sector employees as it provided absolute powers to the government with regard to the removal of 'unwanted persons' in government jobs which caused lack of initiative and loss of morale in the policy making and implementation arms of the government.
The government worked with all the parties in the parliament to annual this draconian law. The repeal of this black law has liberated public servants from servitude of individuals and now they are able to work according to their conscience and the law of the land, without any fear of victimisation or premature dismissal from service.
The previous authoritarian regime had imposed restrictions on trade unions through the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002. The PPP-led government removed these restrictions through the Industrial Relations Act 2008. Through this act, the Labour Appellate Tribunals have also been revived on the persistent demand of the trade unions and federations in order to ensure the speedy disposal of labour disputes.
Through an amendment in the Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 2010, the government has restored the right of the workers of the public sector entities to approach the labour courts, labour appellate tribunals and the National Industrial Relations Commission. Labour leaders have welcomed the repeal of Section 2A of this anti-labour law that had confiscated their right to approach the labour courts and labour tribunals. Moreover, the repeal of Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 in the enactment of Industrial Relations Act, 2008 has regulated the government's vision on the dignity of labour, elimination of animosity and antagonism by fostering a trust relationship between the employers, employee and promoting social dialogue in the law.
A large number of youth had been recruited on contract basis by the previous governments in various departments of the government. Contractual employment is essentially meant for short-term assignments. However, various governments have also used this mode of recruitment for long term assignments. There has been a policy advice from Brettonwoods to make all employment in education and health sectors on contract basis. The Brettonwoods corrected their position somewhere in the middle but, oblivious to this change of course by the donors, but in Pakistan the recruitment was continued on contract basis for more than a decade. A large number of these recruitments were made against longer term positions. Consequently, the contracts expired every year and were thus extended again and again. In classic bureaucratic fashion, every extension was made with a minimum gap of three months which caused loss of morale, time and output. The PPP-led government recognised the serious problem and took the initiative to regularise all the contract employees in Basic Pay Scale (BPS) 1-15 in order to provide job security to the low-paid employees in the country.
The other pro-workers measures taken by the government include the launch of Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme (BESOS) in more than 80 state-owned enterprises, the initiation of Benazir Green Tractors Scheme for the small farmers, the National Internship Programme, minimum wage of the unskilled workers has been increased, ceiling form social security benefits also enhanced, and the scope of Workers Welfare Fund has been extended to include the workers of commercial and services sector also in addition to the industrial workers. Under BESOS, 12 percent shares worth more than Rs 110 billion have been given to the employees free of cost, which would make them stakeholders in their organisations' growth and development and would utilise their best abilities to make their units more effective, productive and profitable.
BESOS is the first ever initiative in Pakistan's history through which the workers have not only been given shares in state institutions, but also have been provided due representation in their Boards of Directors, thus empowering them to take decisions for the betterment of their institutions.
It also goes to the credit of the Peoples government that it has enhanced the salaries of the government employees during the last two years. Keeping in view the present level of inflation and price spiral, the Prime Minister ordered the establishment of National Pay & Pension Commission in order to review the entire pay structure of the government employees and come up with concrete proposals to bring the salaries of the public sector employees at par with that of the private sector to attract the best talent in government service.