July 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rajab 18, 1429

KARACHI, July 21: The Sindh High Court issued notices on Monday in a petition seeking release of funds allocated by the federal labour ministry for marriage of female employees and daughters of workers.

The petition has been moved by the collective bargaining agents of Aventis, Aalwin, Atlas, Excise Battery, Farooq Textile, Pak Suzuki and Universal groups.

It says that the Sindh Workers Welfare Fund was set up in 1971 under an ordinance. A welfare board was constituted to further the objectives of the law.

Under the ordinance as subsequently amended, female workers of marriageable age and daughters of all industrial workers were entitled to a grant of Rs50,000 each for marriage expenses.

The petition claimed that an amount of Rs200 million was released by the federal labour ministry to the Sindh labour department for distribution as marriage fund in the fiscal 2006-07. There were 4,500 eligible applicants in Karachi alone but the department issued only 500 cheques for Rs50,000 each and kept the remaining applications pending.

Only Rs25 million of the allocated funds were thus spent by the department through the workers welfare board. It requested the court to direct the department to release the entire amount of the fund to the eligible applicants.

The petition also challenges an amendment to the 1971 ordinance restricting the grant to two daughters of marriageable age.

A division bench consisting of acting Chief Justice Azizullah M. Memon and Justice Khalid Ali Z. Qazi remarked that the issue raised merited consideration and issued notices to the respondents for August 7.

Computer operators

The bench also issued notices in a petition against the termination of services of 20 computer operators working in the prisons department by the home department.

The petitioners submitted through Advocate Mohammad Nawaz Shaikh that they were recruited along with 20 others in 2002 on a consolidated monthly salary each of Rs4,500. Though there was no mention of ‘contract’ in the advertisement through which applications were invited, they were appointed on a year’s contract. However, they were told verbally that their services would be regularized in due course. Meanwhile, 40 posts of OG warders in the prisons department were abolished and as many posts of computer operators were created.

The petitioners’ services were extended from year to year till July 5 when a termination order was issued all of a sudden at the behest of the home department. The inspector-general of prisons had earlier recommended their absorption as permanent employees but the recommendation was ignored. The home department issued a notification for creation of 40 permanent posts of computer operators in February 2008 and the petitioners believed that it was a move toward regularization of their services. Instead of regularizing their services, the home department sacked them and advertised the newly-created posts in Grade 12 on July 12.

Advocate Nawaz Shaikh argued that more than six years of service put in by the petitioners has vested in them a right to be made permanent employees. However, the department was out to deprive them of their right and appoint its favourites to the permanent posts. The home department, he contended, has no authority to interfere in the working of the prisons department.

The bench issued notices to the respondent home department, the inspector-general of prisons and the provincial government through the chief secretary for July 28.

Auction stayed

Justice Mrs Qaiser Iqbal, meanwhile, granted an interim injunction against auction proceedings being conducted by the National Bank under Section 15 of the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finance) Ordinance, 2001, which empowers creditor banks to auction mortgaged property without instituting a suit.

Advocate Saalim Salam Ansari submitted on behalf M/s Gold Star Paper Mills, the debtor concern, that the borrower has filed a suit in the Sindh High Court for rendition of accounts, redemption of the mortgaged property and set-off to the extent of Rs48.286 million. The suit is pending and no ‘default’ or ‘outstanding mortgaged money’ had been judicially determined. Besides, an application by the debtor concern for renewal of the finance facility was also pending before the bank.

The judge issued a notice to the bank for August 4 and suspended the auction proceedings in the meantime.