Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday rejected a plea of the Pakistan Steel People’s Workers Union for release of salaries and observed that poor handling of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) resulted in its closure.

At the same time, the court observed, prudent management made small foundries in the private sector grow into big industries.

“It is because of prudent management that small foundries in the private sector grew into big industrial concerns in our country and Tata, a renowned name in the steel industry, attained an enviable status in the neigbouring country [India],” the court said in its judgement on Friday on a petition filed by the Pakistan Steel People’s Workers Union.

The court reserved its judegment on a petition seeking restraining orders against termination of services of the employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) or a cut in their allowances. On June 24, while reserving its judgement, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan observed that the Supreme Court was the custodian of the Constitution, but it could not encroach upon the authority of other institutions.

Contrary to its judgement against privatisation of the PSMC, the court said that judicial interference was not a substitute for prudent management. “Judicial analysis, assessment or adjudication of such matters, which is more or less theoretical, cannot be a substitute for prudent management. The PSMC alone is not in the lurch. The PIAC (Pakistan International Airlines Corporation), which was one of the best airlines of the world, is also in the similar strait,” the court said in its four-page judgement authoured by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan.

The court said that dealing with the failures of the PSMC was the domain of the Executive and the Legislature. “The Executive in the first instance could take stock of the situation, examine the causes of their failure and find ways and means to bring them out of such straits. The Legislature could legislate to deal with the problems besetting the corporations if the existing dispensation in its wisdom is not equal to the occasion,” the court said in its judgement.

The court observed that the PSMC was a huge enterprise and no mega or minor project in the country was conceivable without the steel mills. “It, despite having a winning headstart, came to a halt,” the court said. It described the PSMC as a hub of economy and backbone of the country. The court said the matter of payment of salaries to the PSMC employees could be addressed by a forum set up under the law. “The failure to pay the liabilities such as provident and gratuity funds may have worsened the plight of the employees, but such liabilities could also be settled by a forum,” the judgement said.

No order has been passed yet with regard to termination of services of the PSMC employees, deduction of their allowances or changes to the terms and conditions of their service; therefore, a petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on this ground would be premature, the court said.

In case there is any such apprehension in the minds of the employees, they can approach the high court and ask for a restraining order under Article 199 of the Constitution, it said. “Inaction or indecision on part of the government may raise an alarm in the minds of the employees of the PSMC and add to the anguish of every thinking citizen, but where the high court can provide a remedy under Article 199 of the Constitution or any other forum established on its behalf, we would not like to step in and wax eloquent in futility,” the court said.