Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to consider the case of its twenty seven employees for regularization of their service in accordance with the law.
A division bench of the SHC comprised of Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon issued these orders after twenty seven employees moved the court for regularization of their services.
The bench ordered the PSQCA to complete exercise for regularization of services of its employees in three months and inform the court about it through MIT-II.
The petitioners approached this court for regularization of their service in PSQCA by making the plea that they were appointed, through competitive process on different vacant posts including scientists/engineers, senior laboratory technician, junior laboratory technician, computer/data entry operator, laboratory security guard, telephone operator, laboratory receptionist etc., on contract basis in the year 2012 and onward.
The petitioners submitted that they were performing their duties honestly with due diligence and asserted that they are eligible to be regularized under Office Memorandum dated 29.08.2008 as amended up to date issued by Government of Pakistan, Cabinet Secretariat, Establishment Division, but the authority is not regularizing them on the premise that they closed the project with effect from 31st December, 2018. They contended that regularization in service was their right.
The court in its order said that submissions of authority are misconceived and not well founded. The regularization of the employees is not part of the terms and conditions of service of the employees, but it depends upon the length of service, the order stated.
The court observed that petitioners served the authority for a period ranging from 5 years to 6 years and noted that the said period of service is more than sufficient to acquire expertise in respective fields.
Therefore, considering others while ignoring the petitioners is unjustified and against the principles of natural justice and equity, the court observed and ordered the authority to consider the regularization of services of petitioners.
Meanwhile, a division bench of the SHC was informed that Chief Minister Sindh approved the summary for appointing 1100 social mobilizers on permanent basis in Sindh Population Welfare Department.
The officials of department along with government attorney appeared in the hearing of the contempt of court petition for not complying with the court orders to regularize the services of social mobilizers and told the court that the chief minister approved the summary.
The SHC bench had ordered for regularization of services of social mobilizers in March this year and last month ordered the provincial government to notify the regularization of services of 1100 social mobilizers.