The federal government despite making an announcement in the current fiscal year budget (2014-15) that it would upgrade all the government employees from grade 16 to 17, but has failed to implement the decision. A government official told Business Recorder on Monday that the government has yet to issue notification about the upgradation of the employees. "Various delaying tactics are being used to issue the up-gradation notification," he said.
The official said that all the government employees in grade-16 were expecting to get salaries of the grade-17 before the Eid as promised by Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. "The government should fulfil its promise; otherwise we would be left with no option but to observe complete strike across the country," he said. He said the government employees due to inordinate delay in their up-gradation may move the court against the finance minister as well.
"The finance minister has announced up-gradation of the employees on the floor of the house; so he must honour it," he said. The official said that up-gradation of the grade-16 employees to grade-17 is part of the official documents and budget speech of the finance minister; therefore it is binding on the government to honour its promise.
The Lahore High Court has recently ordered the government in one of its verdicts to withdraw all the government employees from income tax and customs department on deputation, he said. "Around 1500 to 1600 employees are working on deputation in the customs department against the ruling of the High Court," he said.
Giving details about the deputationists, he said the employees from fisheries, accounts and meteorological departments were serving in the income tax and customs department. "Majority of these employees have been working on the airports, but they are not trained enough to check smuggling of contrabands and other illegal activities on the premises," he claimed. "Airports are quite sensitive installations and the government must deploy the relevant officials on the premises to check crimes of all sorts," he suggested.