ISLAMABAD: Ideological differences between the PPP and the PML-N over the subject of employments in state-owned enterprises were visible in the National Assembly (NA) on Wednesday as Dr Qadir Khan Mandokhel, chairman of Special Committee of National Assembly for Affected Employees, criticised Ayaz Sadiq for working against the interests of workers.

The committee chairman, who raised the issue in the NA, noted that it was the responsibility of the government not only to protect the employment of public-sector entities but to ensure that their salaries and pensions were paid on time.

While highlighting achievements made by the committee in protecting the jobs of government employees and even getting them reinstated, he softly criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for establishing a four-member cabinet committee over the same subject headed by Ayaz Sadiq, minister for economic affairs.

“This committee, which can also be called a government committee, has been overturning all decisions made by the National Assembly (NA) committee,” Dr Mandokhel said in the lower house, adding that only two ministers attend the meeting of that committee Ayaz Sadiq and Azam Nazeer Tarar, the law minister.

He added that key government units including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), education ministry, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and railways do not respond to directives of the committee and this was unfair.

“It was mainly because decisions made by a committee formed by the NA cannot be overruled by two cabinet members. It is not our personal interest to help employees but we have tried to help the 4,000 retired employees including 1,000 widows of the employees of Radio Pakistan get pensions,” he added.

However, sensing the sensitivity of the subject, NA speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf stopped Dr Mandokhel and asked him to come to his chamber for further discussion.

Later, the Special Committee of National Assembly for Affected Employees held its meeting and chairman Dr Mandokhel directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to report about implementation of the earlier directive of the committee.

The employees of APP told the committee that they were recruited in a project in January 2022 that ends on June 30, however, the officials of information ministry said that all these employees would not be fired and they would be regularised within a week.

The committee was informed that the Board of Directors has approved the regularisation of 135 of APP’s contract employees.

In another development, the employees of Pakistan Television (PTV) Ghulam Haiuddin Dar, Mohsin Rashid Bhatti and Zahid Jatoi spoke about problems faced by employees of PTV.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2023