LAHORE, Dec 30: The retired employees of the Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) have appealed to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take note of the discriminatory policy of the management to deny its pensioners their outstanding benefits granted by the Supreme Court.

“Every retired government employee in the country has been getting pension and other benefits, declared and secured as a fundamental right in the Constitution, but for the PSIC pensioners it still is a distant dream,” PSIC Pensioners Welfare Association President Khwaja Hameed Asghar told Dawn here on Sunday.

The PSIC management has been denying to its pensioners many benefits the other federal and provincial government departments had been giving to their retired employees, he said.

The association served a legal notice on PSIC Board members for the release of medical allowance, 20 per cent budgetary increase, seven per cent cost of living allowance, 75 per cent family pension and 100 per cent commutation. “However, PSIC Board members in a meeting on Dec 27, 2012, decided to stop all pensioners’ benefits, in spite of knowing that the same are the fundamental rights and cannot not be withheld,” said Mr Asghar.

“At present, payment of pensions and other benefits to the retired employees besides commutation of pension to those attaining superannuation are being made out of the PSIC grant-in-aid as well as other available funds against closed loan schemes.

The present funding arrangements are no longer maintainable for 2012-13 financial year onwards, with existing meagre financial position of the PSIC.

“Hundreds of PSIC retired employees and families of the deceased pensioners have been looking towards the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of their plight and ensure them their fundamental right,” he said.