LAHORE, May 11: The employment exchanges have been downsized as one-man ‘district employment exchange service managers’ responsible for registration under Essential Personnel Ordinance, 1948, and Civil Servants Act, 1961, for the armed forces since revival in January, 2001.

The employment exchanges had independent offices in all the districts of the province and had over 500 employees, including 132 officers, when they were wound up by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 1994 on the recommendations of his Economy Committee under pressure from his MNAs and MPAs who wanted to benefit from recruitment of government servants.

All the employees were sent to the surplus pool after winding up of the employment exchanges. Sixteen gazetted officers and six non-gazetted employees had died and 30 got early retirement when the downsized exchanges were revived in the form of employment exchange service managers in July, 2000.

Only one employment exchange service manager, with no auxiliary staff of any kind whatsoever, has now been posted in each of the 34 district labour offices in the province for the registration work. These officials have been posted after repatriation to Directorate of Manpower Training, Punjab Labour Department, from the surplus pool without any seniority or service structure. The so-called one-man employment exchange service closes automatically when he leaves for some errand or proceeds on leave.

When the phenomenon was brought to the notice of the Punjab labour welfare director at a meeting of employment exchange service managers a few months ago he said closure of the exchange for any time period whatsoever made no difference.

The Lahore Employment Exchange alone had 66 employees, including 13 managers and a regional manager, at its independent office at Chauburji Parks when the exchanges were closed down in 1994. An average 300 job-seekers were registered at the office daily and 300 to 400 were provided jobs every month. An average 150 employers contacted the exchange every month. Railways, police and education department recruited all BS-1 to -15 employees on the recommendations of the employment exchange. There were no recruitments without the employment exchange registration cards.

Against an average 300 unemployed people registered at the Lahore Employment Exchange daily till its winding up in 1994, the District Employment Exchange Service has registered only 850 essential personnel, including 455 doctors, 22 cooks, 33 naib qasids, 35 electricians, 21 tailors, six mechanical engineers, 10 welders, seven stenographers, three draughtsmen, five heavy equipment drivers, 17 retired army personnel, two guards, 18 lower division clerks, nine storekeepers, four sweepers, 10 MT Fitters, two chemists, 10 surveyors, five lithographers, one plumber, 12 vehicle mechanics, 81 turners, 52 fitters, two electrical engineers and six laboratory technicians, on direct approach or through the labour officers since January, 2001.