Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has terminated a number of employees falling in seven different categories. Around 500-600 officers including former employees have been affected by the decision.
About 49 per cent of workers and 70pc of officers were reduced under which 4,544 people were rendered unemployed in the last week of 2020.
When it was asked about terminated employees from the PSM Chief Executive Officer retired Brig Shuja H. Khurazmi replied that he did not know about the exact number of officers.
PSM spokesman Muhammad Afzal also said he could not reply to any question as he had also been sacked.
As mentioned in the letter sent to the employees, the PSM management has decided to retrench all officers of the production directorate, except COBP and refractories department; all officers of technical services directors, except qualified engineers and IT professionals; all officers of production, planning, and control, public relations department, Pakistan Steel Institute of Technology and Corporate Planning and Investment, except qualified engineers; all assistant managers and deputy managers of the security department, engineers working on non-technical posts of marketing and internal audit department; all contract and daily-wager officers, except those in finance and A&P directorate; and officers of zonal offices, except engineers and master’s degree holders posted at Lahore and Islamabad.
The letter further states: “Since you fall in the above category of employees to be retrenched, your employment is hereby terminated by way of retrenchment with immediate effect. Although retrenchment is with immediate effect, you will be paid wage/salary of March 2021. In addition to legal dues in accordance with the terms and conditions of your employment, if any, you shall be paid one month wage in lieu of period of notice.”
After terminating the officers, the management in the letter also “wishes the officers best of health, happiness and success in your future endeavors”.
Former employees regretted that on the one hand, Minister for Privatisation Mohammad mian Soomro had been talking about the revival of PSM and, on the other, the retrenchment drive had been picking up pace.
Mr. Soomro, while chairing a high-level meeting on the privatization of National Power Parks Management Company on March 17 this year, had thanked the stakeholders for their active participation in the revival of PSM.
