Govt partially pays troubled steel mills employees
Labourers said that the amounts paid would be utilized to pay their debts
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Federal government on Thursday has issued pending salaries of two months to Pakistan Steel Mills employees.
Senate’s standing committee for production paid a visit to the deteriorating steel mills. It should be mentioned that employees are entitled to salaries of past four months. However, they have been given dues of two months for now.
Steel mills Chairman Major General (r) Zaheer Ahmed Khan briefed the committee. It was reported that irked employees besieged the operations building and raised slogans against authorities.
Meanwhile in the federal capital, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) convened a meeting and approved issuance of two-month pending payments to the labourers. Employees denounced the act and criticised the government for not paying the due amount.
They said that the amounts paid would be utilized to pay off their debts.
Protesting labourers said that they are entitled to salaries however, the authorities pay them as if they are going out of the way to fulfill their needs.
Pakistan Steel Mills’ poor financial status and plunging production should be talked about here. The government had tried to lift up the steel industry by allocating huge amounts of funds in the past however, nothing could keep it from going downhill.
The standing committee has recommended the government to allocate at least Rs 9.5 billion to run usual affairs of the industry. Employees have complained about registration of ghost employees in different departments of the PSM.
The federal government is now keen to privatize the industry which is also a time taking process. If the government takes sincere steps, it would take around three to four years. Privatization involves legal processes and formalities that are likely to take years.
The steel mill was under Rs 17 billion debt in 2008 however, the amount has crossed Rs 35 billion in 2015. The PSM is unable to pay salaries to employees and the government is taking care of the issue since past months.
The ruling party has decided to privatize the severe crisis-hit company following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) reforms package.
A Chinese company has shown interest in taking the wheel at the PSM. A delegation of China’s Metallurgical Group had visited the PSM site. The members of foreign delegation also held a meeting with Minister for Industries and Production, Ghulam Murtaza Khan.
