Three-month basic salary issue: PM gets ECC nod for cancellation of order today

ISLAMABAD: After the Finance Ministry’s refusal to allocate Rs100 billion for payment of honorarium equal to three-month basic salary to all federal government employees, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has called a meeting of Economic Coordination Committee on Monday (today) to withdraw his May 25 orders.

The News has learnt that the Finance Ministry showed its inability to spare Rs100 billion to implement the PM’s orders at a time when the country is in dire need of financial resources and needs about $2 billion to meet its international obligations till 30th June 2018.

They are trying to arrange loan from international forums including friendly countries. Further that the Finance Ministry is of the view that the ECC never took decision to pay three months basic salary to all federal employees nor was it recommendation.

There was a recommendation to pay honorarium to the employees of Finance, FBR and EAD employees who were involved in budget making exercise and this was a past practice, said an official of Finance Ministry talking to The News on condition of anonymity.

The prime minister’s order reads, “The Prime Minister/Chairman ECC has seen and is pleased to order that all employees of the federal government shall be given honorarium equivalent to three (03) basic pays for financial year 2017-18. No exception shall be allowed for payment in excess of the ceiling in any case. The prime minister has further desired that for the financial years 2018-19 onwards a policy may be formulated by the new elected government after elections 2016.”