Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has recommended stopping downsizing of low-level employees of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and has summoned its Chairman Zulfi Bukhari at the next meeting.
The committee met with Senator Muhammad Talha Mehmood in the chair at the Parliament House on Thursday.
The committee discussed the issues regarding bleak future of the PTDC employees, the enhancement of age relaxation for recruitment in the federal government departments.
The committee took strong notice of incurred losses worth Rs680 million and the corporation's policy of laying off employees.
It was asserted that after the 18th Amendment all properties should have been handed over to the provinces.
The committee directed that details of all properties with valuation must be submitted in the next meeting.
Details of properties and assets (sold/bought) must be included as well.
The committee also directed that all employees must be retained.
Chairman PTDC, Board of Directors have been required to attend the next meeting.
The committee also sought a comprehensive report about the property and list of employees of the PTDC in the next meeting.
The members of the committee also expressed serious concern over selling of property including hotels worth billions of rupees at low price.
They claimed that the PTDC was driving out low-level employees and protecting upper-level employees.
All the members of the committee strongly opposed the process of downsizing of low-level (grade 5 to 16) employees.
The committee expressed its serious concerns over the negligence of the PTDC in resolving the prolonged issues of 172 acres of land at Gadani Fish Harbour, Balochistan, sold by Balochistan government without seeking any approval from the federal government and the PTDC, to a private firm.
Committee Chairman Talha Mehmood directed the PTDC to submit details of its land at Gadani at the next meeting.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said that there were 35 properties of the PTDC and some of them were occupied.
He said that PTDC had been dissolved to the provinces under 18th Constitutional Amendment and its properties should be handed over to the provinces.
Senator Attaur Rehman claimed that an owner purchased a PTDC hotel in Lahore at the cost of Rs15.5 million and then after some months, he sold it for more then Rs1 billion.
He also claimed, "Some of the property of the PTDC has been occupied by the armed forces."
The senator said that the PTDC was expelling low level poor employees but it was not taking any action against senior grade staffers.
Responding to the members, the managing director (MD) PTDC said that Privatisation Commission had privatised some property belonging to the PTDC.
Secretary Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Malik Ghauri told the committee that under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan governments were bound to take the employees of the dissolved institutions at same terms and conditions.
He said that the PTDC could not decide about its employees.
The committee chairman said that why did PTDC Chairman Zulfi Bukhari attend the meeting and directed the concerned authority of his presence must be made compulsory at the next meeting.
The resolution moved by Senator Kalsoom Parveen on the issue of enhancement of age relaxation in the federal government departments by further two years was rejected.
The meeting was attended by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, Senator Rubina Khalid, Senator Najma Hameed, Senator Dr Asad Ashraf, Senator Dr Ashok Kumar, Senator Naseebullah Khan Bazai, Senator Mushahidullah Khan, Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi, Senator Kalsoom Parveen, and senior officers from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Division, Establishment Division, PTDC, FPSC along with all concerned.