The Lahore High Court on Thursday restrained Punjab government from terminating as many as 110 contract employees of Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority (PIDA) whose services were going to be expired on December 31st. Earlier, the LHC had also stopped the provincial government from taking any adverse action against 51 employees of the authority.
Earlier, a law officer sought further time for submission of reply of the government. The petitioners counsel argued that the government was intentionally delaying the submission of reply. He said that the government did not want to extend contracts services of the employees, which would be expired on December end.
He requested the court to stop the government from terminating the petitioners till the final fate of the petition. The court however allowed further to the government for submission of reply and adjourned hearing till January 28, 2013. Nasim Abbas and other 109 petitioners had submitted that the LHC had ordered the provincial government to regularise the services of all contract employees of PIDA within three months. But, the government had not implemented the court orders, they added.
They pointed out the Punjab chief secretary under his chairmanship formed a committee that refused to implement the judicial orders. The services of PIDA employees had been regularised according to the two notifications issued by the Punjab government in 2009 and 2010 making permanent the all contract employees of different departments of the province, the petitioners added. They submitted that the government had announced regularisation of all contract employees of BPS-1 to 16 and above by issuing a notification in 2010.