The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) has submitted to the Oil and Gas Authority (Ogra) that the reinstated employees, as per federal government directives, lack technical knowledge and relevant background to produce intended results as per Ogra timelines.
Official documents available with Business Recorder show that SNGPL has approached Ogra for approval of Rs 555 million on account of salary arrears to the sacked employees of the company in 1998-99, during Nawaz Sharif's regime.
According to the documents, SNGPL is making concerted efforts by putting them through various formal training sessions as well as on-job training. Resultantly, some improvements in various fields had been witnessed. Tangible results, however, would take time, for which the petitioner is endeavouring to utilise their services to the best of their ability.
Ogra, however, has questioned SNGPL's assessment by pointing out that before their termination they were appointed against suitable positions by the company's management itself after due diligence and scrutiny.
The documents say: "The authority admits the fact that above employees were reinstated pursuant to compliance with the directives of federal government in accordance with Sacked Employees Ordinance, 2009. Authority, however, notes that these employees, before their termination, were appointed against suitable positions by the company's management itself, surely after due diligence and scrutiny. Authority is of concerted opinion that desired results can possibly be achieved from reinstated employees, provided the management eagerly undertakes appropriate measures for re-training of these employees". The authority also noted concerns over the efficiency of SNGPL towards some critical areas, particularly Unaccounted for Gas (UFG) losses of 15 percent.
However, Ogra claims that it is adopting a generous approach in allowing cost on account of HR for last year and notes that "Ogra in view of above, allows 50 percent expenditure on account of sacked employees, amounting to Rs 278 million on provisional basis at this time, subject to improvement consequent to effective utilisation of these employees. The same will, however, be comprehensively reviewed at the time of FRR and petitioner must be able to demonstrate enhanced utilisation of reinstated employees at that time, in terms of concrete measurable outputs".
In 1998, the Nawaz government had sacked 2814 workers, who had been hired by the Benazir Bhutto regime, to work for SNGPL in 1995-1996 on the grounds that the jobs were allocated on the basis of political affiliations and not on merit.
After returning to power in 2008, the PPP government ordered reinstatement of nearly 18,000 sacked employees from the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).