Ending jobs

The PTI government and Imran Khan had promised to create millions of new jobs after coming to power. Instead, in some sectors of government, just the opposite seems to be happening. According to reports, a plan has been finalized to fire more than 400 regular employees of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation after giving them three months’ basic salary, gratuity and whatever sum is available in their provident fund. For most, this will not add up too much. Those in the firing line are said to include PTDC officials and others who have been working with the organization for the last 20 years or more. The employees union has managed to obtain a stay from the National Industrial Relations Commission against the government decision. The president of the union has said they were told earlier of a plan to dismiss around 137 employees while adjusting other staff members in the Punjab Tourism Department. Senior officials at the PTDC say the decision to end the 400 jobs is a part of the government’s restructuring plan for the tourism sector in the country.

At present, people in all spheres desperately need jobs. High inflation and a stagnant market place mean life will be extremely difficult for those who suddenly find themselves out of work. For many who have been employed for long periods with the PTDC, new jobs will also be difficult to find. The government has been stressing its desire to expand tourism in the country. Even if it finds there is a need to restructure the existing department, it is unclear why these experienced employees cannot be adjusted within the new system and offered retraining if necessary

The key priority of any government which states its aim is to safeguard the welfare of people must be to protect jobs and create as many more as possible. Scrapping those which already exist does not seem to be a wise strategy in times such as these. Certainly, it does not fit in with the promises previously made by the PTI. We can understand the desire to make departments more efficient and improve the tourism setup. There is however a need to assess if it is really essential to fire hundreds of people in order to do so, and leave them with very little to take home even after years of serving the department they were recruited to and had worked at for decades in many cases.