Regularisation of sacked employees to be reconsidered

ISLAMABAD: The prime minister’s committee headed by secretary to federal ombudsman is all set to consider the cases of thousands of employees regularised by the PPP government without fulfilling the needed criteria.
The said committee was constituted on the direction of Islamabad High Court’s order of September 2014. The Prime Minister’s Office took good eight months to form this committee and it was notified on April 3, 2015. Other members of the Committee are Additional Secretary III Cabinet Division, Joint Secretaries of Establishment Division and Law, Justice and Human Rights Division.
The issue was raised by Secretary Establishment Division on February 4, 2014 in a summary sent to the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary. The notification was issued only when IHC directed to inquire the regularisation of thousands of employees during the PPP government without fulfilling the criteria laid down by the Cabinet.
Secretary Establishment Division had pointed out in his summary that in 2008 the Federal Cabinet had constituted a committee on reinstatement of sacked employees/workers regularisation of contract/daily wages employees, recruited during November 1993 to November 1996 and sacked/removed during the period December 1996 to December 1998. This committee was headed by then religious affairs minister (now leader of opposition in National Assembly).
The ED summary suggested that the legality of the decisions of the committee remained questionable as it didn’t adhere to its assigned role. And role of certain officials/officers involved in the process has also been found beyond the role assigned to them. It was proposed that a thorough review of the whole process of regularisation of contractual/daily wage employees be carried out by the high level ministerial committee.
The summary stated that this committee held 27 meetings in the Establishment Division attended by Syed Khurshid Shah as chairman while no other member of the committee attended any of these meetings. Further that the status of the committee was referred to as cabinet sub-committee but nothing was on record of the Cabinet Division to verify it. This committee issued direction to different departments to implement its direction after fulfilling codal formalities.
The mandate of the committee was to submit its recommendations to the cabinet but said committee assumed the role of approving, regularising of large number of employees not only in BS-1 to BS-15 but also in BS-17 and above which otherwise fell in the purview of the FPSC. The committee didn’t take into account the guidelines issued by Establishment Division dated 29-8-2008.
And the criteria initially approved by the Cabinet and the Prime Minister was later modified many times by the Committee itself without seeking approval of the competent authority. In between June 2011 to March 2013, meetings were attended by the chairman of committee only and minutes were issued by the Establishment Division. Out of five members of the committee only the chairman signed minutes of eight meetings. Minutes of remaining 19 meetings were signed by PS to then Religious Affairs Minister or by then JS (Admn) or DS (Admn) or Section Officer (Admn-1) Establishment Division and issued to ministries, divisions and departments without formal approval of the chairman.
An Interesting aspect brought into notice of the PM Secretariat was that minutes of the last meeting held on March 13 2013 were signed on 2-8-2013 by former religious affairs minister in his capacity as chairman. The committee stood disbanded on March 16, 2013 on the dissolution of NA.