SHC dismisses former PSM employees’ petitions for post-retirement promotions

The Sindh High Court has dismissed a petition of Pakistan Steel Mills’ retired officers against the denial of promotion due to alleged financial constraint as not maintainable.

A division bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, observed that the Pakistan Steel Mills has incurred substantial losses exceeding Rs100 billion with total liabilities Rs110 billion.

The court observed that under the precarious financial situation directing the PSM to grant the retired officers claimed financial benefits under the promotion policy 2009 in these petitions is not considered appropriate at this time.

Petitioners Manzoor Ahmed and others submitted in the petitions that PSM was legally bound to implement the promotion policy/circular on June 2, 2009 without discrimination in terms of the court orders and to promote the petitioners upon competition of 21 years of service as per the policy.

The petitioners’ counsel submitted that they were initially covered by a 1988-1990 career planning policy that created the HSW cadre with defined promotions; however, this was abolished in 1992.

They said that after years without a clear promotion path, a 2009 policy entitled junior officers (including former HSW-I) to promotion after 21 years of service from their initial placement. They said the petitioners met the requirement but they were denied promotion to deputy manager due to alleged financial constraints, despite a board-approved policy and previous court orders in their favour, which also directed non-discriminatory implementation of the 2009 policy.

They said petitioners who were now retired have been unfairly denied the policy decision relief since 2009, citing financial constraints, while other PSM employees (workers, daily wagers) received benefits in terms of orders passed by the court and sought similar treatment to be meted out with them.

A federal law officer and PSM counsel submitted that despite the PSM being a state enterprise had been shut down since June 2015. They contended that retired employees' claims for benefits, including promotion under a suspended 2009 policy, and the non-statutory nature of service rules, warrant dismissal of the petition.

The court, after hearing the arguments of the counsel, observed that the PSM incurred substantial financial losses exceeding Rs100 billion, with total liabilities surpassing Rs110 billion. The court observed that based on the reasoning pointed out by the respondents’ counsel, the relief requested by the petitioners cannot be granted and dismissed the petitions as not maintainable, along with any pending applications.