LAHORE: Majority of the female employees of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) have suffered badly after two-hour duty time extension following an order by the LDA DG.
LDA Director General Amna Imran Khan has issued the directive for a two-hour extension in working hours, which earlier was from 8am to 3pm and after the order it is now from 8am to 5pm.
It was observed that extension of two hours in working time had badly affected the majority of female employees in LDA as many were seen complaining about domestic difficulties to their seniors and bosses.
It is pertinent to mention here that official working time in all authorities and provincial government offices, which operate six days a week, is 8am to 3pm, but the LDA DG enforced new timing soon after taking charge of her seat, which majority of the employees said was an illegal step.
Seeking anonymity, a junior female employee working in LDA Town Planning Wing, said it took her almost two hours to reach home on public transport and the new timing has ruined her domestic life. She said earlier she reached home around 4.30 pm or 5pm and now she reached home around 7pm.
She said she has to cook, teach her kids, do other household works but due to extension in working hours she can’t do all these works properly. She appealed to Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan, Punjab caretaker chief minister and chief secretary to direct the DG to reverse her ‘executive order’.
“My family and other responsibilities at home are disrupted by this recent order. I am facing difficulties in performing childcare, housework, shopping and other responsibilities at home,” said another female staffer on anonymity. She said her husband was very rigid and he had already asked her to leave the job under these working hours.
Many female staffers have alleged that male staffers in their sections leave the office after 3pm on one pretext or the other while female staffers have no option but to wait till 5pm. They said no work is being done in these extended time and many females also feel threatened as they were alone in their offices.
It is pertinent to mention here that LDA’s One Window where people submit their cases and complaints is closed at 1pm. A senior LDA official while commenting on the situation said instead of extending working hours of employees, the LDA DG should extend working hours of One Window.
When contacted LDA director administration told The News that the extension of two hours in duty timing was a temporary arrangement and normal time will be enforced after the general elections. He said many female employees have also contacted with him over the issue and he had told them that normal working hours from 8am to 3pm will be enforced on July 26, 2018 again.
