Daily Times

Tens of thousands of employees of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and district municipal corporations have not been paid their dues for years, creating immense financial difficulties for the employees and their families amidst the rising inflation.

Sources in the corporation told DailyTimes that the employees have been waiting for their payment of leave encashment, pension commutation, and the raise of 10 and 15 percent in salaries and pensions that was announced by the Sindh government for the financial year of 2019-20 and 2020-21. The workers of the civic bodies claim that the raise of 20 percent announced last month by the Sindh government would not be made owing to the financial crisis that the civic bodies are going through these days. A source in the KMC familiar with the situation told DT, “Around 394 KMC retired employees, some of whom passed away years ago, have not been paid leave encashment while 25000 pensioners have not been paid 10 and 15 percent raise announced by the Sindh government in the last two years. In addition to that 6500 retired employees and the families of deceased employees have not been paid pension commutation, which has been due since March 2016.”

Another source in Korangi district told DW, “The ex-chairman Nayyar Raza did not make any efforts in ensuring the payment of raises that were announced by the Sindh government, creating financial problems for the employees.”

According to another source in KMC, the civic bodies were already going through financial problems. “However, the decision of the Supreme Court regarding Empress Market, bazaars of old clothes, signboards, license of food quality and others added to the financial woes of the Metropolitan Corporation. Syed Zulfiqar Shah, the president of Sajjan CBA, KMC, told DT, “The KMC is unable to make payments because of the immense financial difficulties that the civic body has been facing for years. After the court intervention, the civic body was issued a special grant of Rs500 million, which was being released since 2013. But after the separation of Karachi Development Authority from the KMC, this grant was reduced to Rs300 million. We approached the court over this issue, after which Rs130 million of the additional amount was released raising the total amount to Rs430 million but there was still a shortfall. To fill that shortfall a special grant of Rs170 million was released which lasted for six months, going some way in stabilizing the financial position of the KMC, enabling it to make salaries’ payments.”

He further said that the KMC was released a grant of Rs170 million on the court’s orders and once this money is stopped, the financial condition of the civic body will again be worse. “Therefore, it is important that the government continue paying a special grant of Rs600 million until the provincial finance commission award is announced.”

Shah bemoaned the attitude of the Sindh government claiming that despite the clear court orders the Finance Department did not release the funds. “The KMC needs around five billion rupees so that it could make payments to the retired employees, pensioners, and their families but the government has not released the same creating immense financial hardships for the employees and their families.”

He demanded of the government to support the civic body financially and release the required funds so that these payments could be made.

Daily times contacted Sindh government officials for their comments over the issue but they did not respond to telephone calls of this scribe nor did they respond to text messages.