KARACHI: It seems that the claims of bringing transparency and merit in government affairs exists nowhere as the Sindh’s labor department is all set to make hundreds of recruitments without following the merit-based recruitment procedures, it is learnt. The jobs applications of hundreds of jobless youths have been thrown , interestingly in plastic bags, which are littering outside the Directorate of Labor. The Sindh Labor and Human Resources department had released an advertisement in the local dailies inviting applications from the jobless youth of the province for the jobs. “The labor department did not bother to adopt the merit-based procedure by hiring any third party testing system like NTS or the IBA”, sources reveled . The department, which is currently headed by Advisor to Chief Minister on Labor and Human Resources Senator Saeed Ghani, had reportedly asked the secretary and his team to give advertisement in the newspapers for the jobs. The jobs will be given to the youth who would be recommended by the committee formed by the advisor, sources said, adding that the agent’s claiming to be the source of proving the posts have became active and have also fixed different prices for the respective positions. Presently, the labor department has hundreds of vacancies for the posts – Stenographer BS-14, Labor Inspector BS-9, Junior Clerk BS-11, Driver BS-5, Dispatch Rider BS-5, Naib Qasid BS-2, Farash BS-2, Chowkidar BS-2 and Sweeper BS-2 etc. The applicants were advised to submit their documents with the Deputy Director, Labor (Admin) Block 86, Sindh Secretariat IV-B without specifying the dates and venues of the written and viva tests. The daylong visit of the Labor Directorate conducted by the Daily Times revealed that an employee of the department was collecting applications from the candidates and was throwing them under the table. “The applications are being saved/preserved in the large sacks for further procedures”, an employee of the department told Daily Times. Daily Times repeatedly tried to contact Director Labor Khadim Hussain Bhutto to seek his official version however he refused to comment saying that he is waiting for orders from the advisor and secretary’s office.