Funds for PSM employees salaries soon

KARACHI: The ministry of finance is expected to release the four monthly salaries for more than 15,000 employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills in the next couple of days, sources said on Wednesday.
“The (PSM) employees will get salaries in the next four to five days, as the ministry of finance is about to release the required funds,” said Muhammad Zubair, minister of state for privatization.
The mills requires around Rs480 million to pay a monthly salaries. The PSM will release the pending salaries from the month of January.
The sources said the government is also considering a new bailout package for the steel mills as it has failed to increase its production to a set target of 77 percent for April. It is utilising 45 percent of its production capacity.
Zafar Hijazi, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan said the release of the funds for the salaries is part of the recommendations of the five-member committee constituted to resolve the issues facing the mills. The committee was constituted on the directives of the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Zubair, who is also member of the committee, said the committee has submitted its recommendations, which will be discussed at the next meeting of economic coordination committee of the cabinet.
The committee recommended a new bailout package for the mills to make a major repair work at the integrated steel complex. The mills has not made the required overhauling for the last six years.
Earlier, the PSM management demanded of the government Rs8.5 billion for the overhauling. It immediately sought Rs3.7 billion.
The mills has incurred a loss of around Rs180 billion since July 2008, while its liabilities stands at around Rs114 billion, an official said.
Meanwhile, an official said PSM Chief Executive Officer Zaheer Ahmed Khan, in a meeting with the tax authorities, raised the issue of duty free import of Hot Rolled Coils (HRCs) despite the regulatory duty of 12.5 percent imposed on it by the government. PSM is unable to sell its main product HRCs in the local markets because of the cheap imports from China.