ISLAMABAD: Employees of the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) have yet to be granted pensions unanimously approved by the council’s board of governors 12 years ago. The pensions were premised upon the scheme applicable to government servants.

After the board of governors’ recommendation was not implemented, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Broadcasting and National Heritage took notice of the grievances of the employees in 2016.

The committee gave the Ministry of Information one month to take up the matter of grant of pension for retired employees of PNCA. Two years later, those recommendations are yet to be implemented.

Both serving and retired employees of PNCA feel that the government has not taken upon itself the duty to provide these servants of the state any independent means of livelihood in their old age.

Council employees governed by same rules and regulations as other govt servants

In one of the reminders on the issue, PNCA Director General Jamal Shah wrote to the parent Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that the employees were denied the right to life with dignity without suffering in their old age.

According to a senior official in the Ministry of Information, PNCA’s employees are being governed in consonance with the general rules and regulations prescribed for the government servants since its incorporation in 1973. Similarly the pay scale structure applicable to the government servants was also applied on PNCA employees.

“However, the application of pension facility for PNCA employees, which was an integral part of the emoluments package of government servants was somehow not considered,” said the official in the ministry.

The official explained that some of the other organizations established after PNCA were already provided with pension facility.

The Institute of Folk Heritage, a sister organisation had already allowed old age pension benefits for its employees. Similarly, the Pakistan Science Foundation, Pakistan Museum of National History and Pakistan Scientific and Technology Information Centre are some of the sister organizations that allowed pension facilities.

At the appeal of a retired PNCA official, the federal Ombudsman also found in favour of the retired employees. The Federal Ombudsman recommended in its findings to the PNCA to favourably consider the case of its retired employees.

In one of his reminder letters, available with Dawn, PNCA DG Jamal Shah asked the Finance Division to oblige, since all documentary formalities had been completed and it only has to implement recommendations of the court.

Jamal Shah clarified that provision of pension facility to PNCA’s employees would not burden the public exchequer since the council has the ability to finance the pension scheme through annual profits, interest earned through PNCA’s surplus funds invested with financial institutions, and revenue generated by the council from the resources other than grant of aid to mention some sources.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2018