LAHORE: Holding a Rs500 denomination bill in his hand at a private bank’s branch that disburses salaries among Metro bus service staff, Samee Khan (name changed to protect identity) doesn’t know how to run his home with a meagre amount.

After recovering from an 18-day-long ailment, Samee had resumed his duty as a driver only a week ago. He had submitted his medical certificate and related documents to the authorities concerned of Platform, a subsidiary of Turkish firm Albayrak, hired by the Punjab government to operate Metro buses, in the hope of getting reimbursed the medical bill as had been (verbally) promised while giving him job.To his astonishment, he was not only denied the reimbursement facility but his salary was also deducted for the days he had been absent from duty because of the ailment. As if this was not enough, a sum of Rs2,000 was also deducted from his pay in the name of cash security. Samee had now been left with the single currency note to meet the needs of his family for the whole month.

“Denial of a promised facility is not the only problem facing the metro bus staff,” bemoans Samee, who had joined Platform after leaving a local company, hoping for better treatment in a multi-national entity.

“The company does not even issue salary slips to its employees mentioning a break-up of what they are getting under which head,” he added.

“We just show our computerised national identity cards (CNICs) at the (designated) bank branch’s window and get a lump sum amount without knowing how much we’re being paid as regular salary and overtime,” says Shakoor, another Metro bus driver.

Making the matters worse, the drivers’ salary packages were also revised downward from January 2014, weeks before the public transport service celebrated first anniversary of its launch here.

Samee says to reduce the pay package Platform outsourced staff hiring to a little known firm, Professional Employers Private Limited. Those who refused to sign the new contract offering Rs18,000, instead of the previous Rs24,000 per month salary, were shown the door, he added.

He claims the new contract also mentions per hour wages and under the system a driver may be asked to work for less than eight hours a day and given wages accordingly, instead of for the full day.

Referring to a Supreme Court decision, National Trade Union Federation’s provincial secretary-general Niaz Khan says the apex court has declared illegal the practice of hiring services of someone for a third party. He regrets that a party (PML-N) that once championed the cause of an independent judiciary is violating the court verdict by allowing outsourcing of jobs for one of its landmark Metro bus project.

Ironically, the workers are also being denied their constitutional right of taking part in elections at any level. The ‘code of ethics’ issued by the Professional Employers Private Limited, the firm providing staff to the Platform, bars the workers from taking part in electoral contests even at the local level. They are, however, allowed to use their right to franchise.

The Punjab government is silent on the workers’ exploitation as it has sought guarantees from the firm only with regard to its service delivery, ignoring rights of the employees.

Metro Bus Authority Chairman Khwaja Ahmed Hassaan says the government’s only concern is quality of service as it does not wish to repeat the experience it had in road transport sector in which service delivery, the real purpose for launching public sector buses, was totally ignored.

“Our only demand from the operator is that its service delivery should be A-one. The operator will be paid in view of the performance indicators whether it hires one driver or 100, and … the bus should ply on time.”

To console the drivers, he says none of them had earlier driven any double-bus (articulated bus) but now they have the skill and may go for better jobs anywhere.

Platform authorities declined to answer any query by this reporter.