The retired employees of the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) have appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chief Minister Punjab, to take immediate notice of the delaying tactics being adopted by the authorities concerned to include cost of living allowance in their pension.
Several former BS-1 to BS-22 employees of the PSIC on Wednesday said that all retired employees of other Punjab departments are getting the allowance but the PSIC management has been denying its pensioners of their fundamental right. It may be mentioned here that the Supreme Court had on April 1 last year upheld the Federal Shariat Court order of December 2, 2010, that the cost of living allowance admissible at the rate of 7 per cent of basic pay be treated as emolument reckonable towards pension for all those employees in BPS 1-22 who were in receipt of the said allowance at the time of their retirement prior to 2001.
It may be mention here that the Punjab Small Industry Corporation had on April 9 this year received a letter from the Punjab Industries, Commerce and Investment Department regarding inclusion of cost of living allowance in the pension. According to the letter made available to Business Recorder informed the PSIC of the finance department decision "to treat the cost of living allowance, allowed at the rate of 7 per cent in the emoluments reckonable towards pension for all civil servants in BS-1 to BS-22 who were in receipt of the said allowance at the time of their retirement."