Daily Times

While finding no other option after failure of getting their due rights, daily-wage employees of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) approached Chief Justice of Pakistan to pay head to the plight of around 1,600 employees.

In an application to Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, the daily-wage employees said that the authorities concerned are not regularizing them despite the clear directives of SC and High Court. “As per CP, NO.3529/18 in SC and ICA, NO340/2017 in High Court, the courts had directed clearly to regularize our services” reads application, adding that despite passage of two years we still waiting for compliance of these verdicts that, they said, not only put them in uncertainty but also in financial trouble.

The daily wagers requested the superior court to take a stern action against authorities concerned who pushed back the court orders.

While informing the court the employees regretted that it’s a big joke with them as they are being paid Rs 17500 per month while have been working in the same circumstances since over the last 10 years.

Despite repeated attempts by Daily Times acting Director General FDE Syed Umair Javed did not respond to calls and messages. However, Director Admin Saqib Shahab told this scribe that in compliance of court’s order the directorate has sent the case of all daily wagers to Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). “In light of court orders, forwarded all details of the daily wagers to the commission that will formulate strategy accordingly”, he claimed.

To reply a question, Shahab said the list of employees from BPS-1 to BPS-16 has been sent to the cabinet division through the ministry of education in light of the same directions. “So for, the Cabinet Division has given no response to the FDE, and we will act as per policy guidelines received by the Division”, the Director affirmed.

As per sources privy to the matter in the FDE, there were over 2000 daily-wage employees inducted in 423 educational institutions of the FDE to fill the gap of staff deficiency almost a decade ago. Many of them quit their jobs when they saw their vague future. Currently, the sources said, the total number of such employees is 1590 which includes 1050 non-teaching and 540 non-teaching workers on daily wage.

As per documents, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government had introduced a policy in 2010 for contractual employees and daily wagers of the federal government. A sub-committee of the cabinet under chairmanship of Syed Khursheed Shah was formed to further discuss the devised policy, and the committee directed regularisation of 100,000 daily wagers, who had been working in various federal departments and ministries.

However, the FDE daily-wager found no benefit under this committee and their regularisation matter would become a hard-hitting issue with each new day for the authorities concerned.

The desperate daily wagers staged several protests to press the authorities for their rights in the past. It is pertinent to mention that some of incumbent government representatives, who were in the opposition in previous government tenure, had been standing with these employees in their protests. Special Assistant to Prime minister Imran Khan Ali Awan and former Finance Minister Asad Umer are one of them who attended each protest and demonstration of these employees when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was in power. Besides protests, several other forums including parliamentary standing committees, Supreme Court, High Court and lower courts served their decisions in favor of these employees in light of Khursheed committee precedent.

In recent, a three-member SC bench remarked that “all daily-wage employees should give joining applications in their respective departments”. In case any department refused to give the joining, they should file a contempt of court plea in the IHC”, the bench asked the employees.