LWMC gives salaries to 800 workers not on payroll

LAHORE:To counter any strike on Eidul Azha,Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) paid salaries to over 800 sanitary workers allegedly without officially hiring them by giving them appointment letters.

Sources in LWMC revealed that a majority of these workers were working on a work-charge basis under a third party contract, which expired and the third party asked these workers to stop working but LWMC’s chairman at that time said that LWMC will accommodate every single worker.

Meanwhile, LWMC gave advertisement for hiring of sanitary workers after which appointment letters were issued to those LWMC workers who applied for the jobs. At that time over 800 workers performing duties in different UCs were left unattended as LWMC was trying to convince its two Turkish contractors to retain these workers.

During this process a scandal of hiring of sanitary workers against money/nepotism surfaced in which complaints were lodged to the then MD Aslam Rao and other senior officials that some officials in ER Department of LWMC’s HR section were allegedly issuing appointment letters to those who were disengaged by the Turkish contractors.

Following the complaints, LWMC stopped issuing of appointment letters and a scrutiny committee was formed to probe the allegations. After this step, workers started organising strikes against LWMC management as well as BoD chairman. At that time it was alleged that some senior officials were behind the protest carried out against the Chairman on which a fact finding committee was formed for a probe.

This fact finding committee as well as the scrutiny committee had already submitted its reports to the Managing Director and Chairman LWMC but no action has so far been taken against the responsible and instead LWMC bosses apprehending strikes on Eid days made a note to pay salaries to over 800 ‘un-hired’ sanitary workers and presented it in the Board of Directors, which approved the payment of salaries.

Sources inside LWMC said the new Managing Director, LWMC, asked the GM HR to write on the note that all legalities were fulfilled in payment of the salaries to over 800 workers, which he did. However, sources claimed that how LWMC can pay salaries to those workers, which are not on its payroll or properly hired by giving them appointment letters. The News repeatedly tried to contact Managing Director LWMC but failed. However, Deputy Managing Director (DMD) LWMC said that all legal procedures were fulfilled before payment of salaries to these over 800 workers. Over a question that how can LWMC pay salaries to workers without hiring them, he said that the company will soon issue appointment letters to all workers.