LWMC workers’ plea for job confirmation rejected

LAHORE:Hundreds of work charge and daily wagers of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) have lost hope for job confirmation after the local government secretary rejected their plea.

Documents available with The News revealed that Secretary Local Government Dr Irshad held hearing on the directions of Lahore High Court issued in petition No 8206/2022 vide order dated 17.05.2023.

The court ordered, "In view of above, this petition and connected petitions are allowed to the extent that the matters are remitted (to respondent No.1 with direction to look into the grievance of petitioners and if they are covered by the notification supra, then transmit their cases for regularisation to the chief minister for approval as per law. Compliance report shall be transmitted to this court through Deputy Registrar (Judicial). Till then, petitioners shall not be disturbed if they are still in service.”

The hearing was held on August 2 in which Tahir Khan Advocate (petitioners’ counsel), Muhammad Ali Bhatti, Legal Adviser, LWMC, and Muhammad Adil Javed, Assistant Manager Legal, LWMC, participated.

The meeting minutes / office order issued on August 15, 2023 stated that in pursuance of the above-mentioned directions, petitioners were called by the undersigned on 02.08.2023 for hearing in presence of the respondents and the relevant record. During hearing, petitioners’ counsel maintained that the petitioners were daily wage employees of the LWMC. Although petitioners had been in the service of the company for nine years but their services were not regularised.

Petitioners’ counsel further stated that the government, S&GA Department had lately issued a notification dated 29.01.2021, by which, guidelines were issued to regularise the service of daily wagers / work charge employees in government departments. He stated that LG&CD Department had earlier moved a summary to the CM on 18.07.2018 to relax conditions of age and selection under due process for declaring the work charge employees of local councils as permanent workmen.

Upon the approval of the above mentioned summary by the CM, service status of all daily wagers in local governments was changed as permanent workmen.

Petitioners’ counsel submitted that as salaries to all the petitioners were paid out of the budget given by the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore, the former employees might be afforded the status of regularised employees or permanent workmen as per notification dated 29.01.2021.

LWMC legal adviser stated that the company was a separate legal entity registered under section 42 as non-profit organisation with the registrar joint stock companies. He said the petitioners were hired by the LWMC not against any permanent post. They were hired in line with the criteria set by the Board of Directors on need basis and against approved temporary positions.

Petitioners were not even hired directly by the LWMC and they were employed as labourers through contractors, he said, adding, therefore, regularisation of the petitioners was not considered. He argued that all the staff employed in the LWMC was of temporary / contractual nature. He submitted that salaries of temporary workers were paid by the LWMC on monthly basis from the budget allocated by the government in form of loan / grant. After hearing the arguments and looking into the record, the secretary said that all the petitioners were not the employees of any government department. They were not hired against any permanent post and hired in line with the criteria set by the Board of Directors of the company on need basis and against temporary positions. “It was also worth mentioning that the notification dated 29.01.2021 was issued by the government, S&GA Department, which was adopted by LG&CD Department to be further implemented also on local governments across the province.

Following this order, panic spread among the LWMC workers who were hoping job confirmation in the company. Several workers while talking to The News said that they will file a contempt of court petition against the orders.