Islamabad - The daily wage employees of public sector educational institutes of the federal capital have decided to file an intra-court appeal against the decision of Islamabad High Court declaring their appointments illegal.

IHC, earlier this week announced the longstanding decision regarding regularization of daily-wage staffers at model educational institutions of the federal capital working under Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).

The court of Justice Athar Minallah had declared the appointment of the daily wages employees illegal observing that the hiring was made without the being advertised and following transparent legal procedure.

Talking to The Nation, President Daily Wages Employees Association (DWEA) Fahd Meraj said that the employees were disappointed with the decision.

“We are going for intra-court appeal for the review of the decision,” he said. Fahd Meraj said that the decision is in contradiction with the Safia Bano case who was ordered by the Supreme Court for joining the school earlier.

He said the IHC declared the hiring process of daily wage staffers illegal and not transparent, while SC had rejected the FDE plea in the same case and did not question the legal status.

He also said that hiring of new staff by the FDE to fulfil the vacant posts will also be challenged on legal forums.  President DWEA said that despite court orders, salaries of the staffers have not been released and the last pay employees received was in the month of May this year.  The court in its decision noted, “The record also indicates that several petitioners had not been appointed through a transparent competitive process, nor were the posts advertised. They include contract employees appointed in various projects on the development side.”

The court in its verdict declared the payment of salaries to staff from students’ funds an illegal act by the appointing authority.  The order noted, “Nothing is available on the record to show that the appointing authority in the case of public schools or colleges is empowered to appoint teachers on a daily wage basis against private funds collected from the students.”

The court ordered all concerned departments to follow new hiring policy regarding the regularization of employees from scale 1 to 15, and for from grade 16 to above the services of Federal Services Public Commission (FPSC) could be sought.  Around two thousand teaching and non-teaching staffs of model educational institutes are at loggerheads with FDE and the Ministry of Capital Administration & Development Division (CADD) for regularization.

Earlier, FDE wrote a letter to CADD for the hiring of new 141 teachers on contract basis in BS-16 and BS17, but DWEA filed an application at establishment division declaring the step as a violation of the court orders.

President DWEA said that 450 teachers are already available against the posts but not being regularized and paid for last four months.  He said that 21 employees were regularized following the court directives but rest were not being given the joining letters.

 A senior official of CADD talking to The Nation said that there was no legal binding for hiring the new staff, as FDE institutions are facing a shortage of staff. He said seats were available at FPSC and the commission was intimated earlier, but the matter was being delayed due to legal procedure.