Over 200 PCRWR Safe Water Project employees battle for survival

ISLAMABAD: The battle of survival is on by over 200 employees of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources’ (PCRWR) Provision of Safe Water Project, who have not been paid salaries for the last ten months and face sacking for committing no crime.

The standing committees of the Senate as well as the National Assembly concerned have already strongly recommended regularization of their services after having gone through the pros and cons of the matter.

Majority of them were inducted through proper channel following the laid procedure in 2012 and have been useful in making the safe water project a success across Pakistan that is described as the biggest initiative of the council, which works under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The PCRWR project employees range from grade-1 to 19. If they are not retained and regularized, there is a gloomy future ahead for them, as they have become overage.

They are running from pillar to post. The matter was even raised in the Senate recently by MQM’s Col. (R) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi through a calling attention notice.  In response to it, the government had said that a summary pertaining to their cases had been sent to the prime minister for approval.

This had sent a wave of relief to the extremely worried employees, most of whom rely on their salaries to meet their family expenditures and non-payment of salaries for almost a year has forced them to eat one time meal and rely on obtaining loans, it was learnt from some of them, who were seen in the Parliament House recently.

However, this news of the summary turned out to be short-lived, as a letter by the government in response to the summary has dashed their hopes, forcing them to knock at the doors of Lahore High Court, which has stayed the matter and asked the government to submit its reply to it by December 1.

Already, several employees of the Punjab Public Health Engineering Department have got relief from the Lahore Court in a similar case. The provincial government had gone into appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court that had upheld the Lahore High Court decision.

Sources in the Ministry of Science and Technology defended these employees and pleaded for regularization of their services, fearing termination of their services would not only put on hold the crucial safe water project, but also put their families in jeopardy, who have gained experience and expertise during these years of service. Whereas, the new ones would need time to be useful and effective for the project.

“This is a perfect case of obliging favorites. The government must adhere to rules and regularise services of these employees instead of sending them home, adding to the number of millions, who are unemployed,” retorted an opposition party Senator, who is member of the Senate’s standing committee on science and technology.

He saw no harm whatsoever in transferring these employees of the development project to a non-development side.