ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: Pakistan Housing Foundation (PHF), formerly known as Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA), has decided to appoint regular employees on 32 contract and daily wage posts after declaring them vacant.

The decision has put the employees in trouble as they have been working there for the last six years.

The foundation has advertised over 60 vacancies and asked the 32 employees to participate in test and interviews.

Just one month ago the PHA was converted into PHF and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). PHF is a department of Ministry of Housing and Works.

During the tenure of Sami Khilji as federal secretary housing and works, 20 contract and 12 daily wage employees were directly appointed in 2005.

PHA came into being in 1997 through an ordinance, so mostly officers were appointed on deputation but they went back to their parent departments after some time. To fill the vacant seats Sami Khilji who was MD of PHA proposed the government to appoint some employees on contract and daily wages.

Later, Khilji became federal secretary housing so he implemented his proposal and directly appointed employees on contract and daily wages.

The registration of PHF with the SECP gave a hope of regularization to the contract employees but they were taken aback when they saw their posts lying vacant in an advertisement published recently.

The PHF had advertised over 60 vacancies including 13 deputy directors, 31 assistant directors, staff officer to MD, steno-typists and other support staff. Dawn

Talking to , the affected employees said that they had met Managing Director PHF, Rasool Baksh Palpoto but he told them that they should participate in test and interviews.

Later, they met head of the Cabinet Committee for Regularization, Khursheed Shah who is also federal minister. Shah assured them that he would talk to the federal secretary housing and works.

“It is impossible for us to participate in test and interviews after so many years, so we should be regularized,” they said.

“According to rules all contract employees are regularized after a specific period. Recently in National Highway Authority (NHA) 1700 daily wagers were regularized on the instruction of Cabinet Committee for Regularization head, Khurshid Shah. So we should also be treated under the same policy because according to rules after 89 days, daily wagers employees should be appointed on contract basis,” they said.

Managing Director PHF, Rasool Baksh Palpoto told Dawn the cabinet committee would take up the issue. However, he said, if contract and daily wage employees wanted to stay in PHF, they had to fallow procedure.

Federal Secretary Housing and Works Kamran Lashari while talking to Dawn said that he was aware of the issue and matter was under consideration.

“Government has a notified policy which says that contract employees can be regularized but daily wagers are not considered government employees so they have to leave,” he said.

He said the chairman of cabinet committee for regularization, Khurshid Shah, had told him to follow latest notified policy for the regularisation.

Former Secretary Housing Sami Khilji, who has been retired as federal secretary railway, told Dawn that while appointing the contract and daily wages employees he strictly fallowed merit and according to his opinion those employees should be regularised.

Malik Iqbal, Personal Secretary to Minister for Housing and Works Faisal Saleh Hayat, said the minister has gone to Jang on vacations. He will inform him about the issue as soon as he comes back.