Dissent in the CDA

Published December 2, 2014

ISLAMABAD: Union workers at the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Monday raised slogans against the management of the civic body, demanding early regularisation of contractual employees.

The focus of the union’s criticism was Deputy Director General Human Resource Department (DDG HRD) and member environment Mustfain Kazmi.

The general secretary CBA union, Chaudhry Yasin, in his speech, vowed to expose all those who had abused rights of the working class.

The union leaders also praised the CDA chairman, Maroof Afzal, for his ‘pro- workers’ policies and at the same time spoke against other senior officers in the civic body.

The union maintains that it is the contractual employees’ right to be regularized after 89 days of service. “All these employees are working on sanctioned posts and no additional vacancy has been created,” Chaudhry Yasin said. On the contrary this view is opposed by key players in the Authority, who have traditionally displayed opposition, openly.


Union workers demand regularisation of contractual employees


“If we continue to overload the CDA with employees at this rate, then I am sure that it will be another Pakistan Steel Mills by 2020,” said an officer of the environment wing.

He added, “Although no figures have been released but the estimated calculation is that the average monthly bill of salaries and perks of CDA was at Rs300 million and now it has gone up to Rs500 million in past five years, due to reckless up-gradations.”

The current regularisation plan has been opposed by DDG HRD Wishaq Ahmed Khan, who has rejected almost all the 1,500 cases – because they do not meet the criteria.

“I believe in rule of law and going by the book. I do not want to be followed by National Accountability Bureau or Federal Investigation Agency or be presented in a court,” Mr Khan said. “These pressures by the union will not deter me,” he added.

The worst opposition to the union comes from Mustafain Kazmi, member Environment CDA, because most union members are from the Environment Wing followed by the Engineering Wing.

There are some 2,000 gardeners in the CDA, around 2,000 sanitary workers and the fire department has some 450 employees up to grade 15. Engineering wing has 3,000 employees.

Mr Kazmi has demanded that all the regularisationS and up-gradations be made properly.

“I have been sidelined several times during my service in CDA but I have never signed anything improper,” Mr Kazmi said.

“They are against me because most employees do not even show up to work – if all the employees were doing their job, you would see a difference in Islamabad. Rules have to be followed, not pressures tactics.”

One possible reason that the current CDA union leaders seem so eager to demand regulariSation of the contractual employees might be the recent decision by the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) to allow union elections in Pakistan International AirlineS (PIA) after two years instead of three. There are chances of elections in CDA too, following this decision.

“There are chances that anybody in CDA can approach the NIRC and demand elections be held in the Authority after the two-year period expires on December 13, 2014,” said an official in CDA Chairman Secretariat.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2014

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