ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Sports Board gave the Eid gift to 44 employees by terminating their services in the holy month of Ramazan, who were all lowly paid and most deserving ones, as they were working in the PSB for the last three years as daily wagers.
The inside sources have confirmed to this scribe that the services of 44 employees were terminated without assigning any reason, while 23 employees, whom had well passed age limits are still enjoying perks and privileges as they are the blessed ones of Director Generals and they had also the support of trade union.
The reality is very biter as the 44 workers who get the boot are lowly paid including two highly skilled and qualified boxing and volleyball coaches, computer operators, assistants, LDC, coordinator, gardeners, security guards, cooks, ladies pool operators and others were shown the door, who hardly costs PSB Rs 0.6 to 0.7 million. On the other hand only three contractual persons Muhamamd Arshad, who had a 1-year contract as consultant to DG PSB is getting Rs 100,000 monthly salary, while project director hired on daily wages Abdul Rashid Niazi and coordinator Muhamamd Ashfaq are getting Rs 50,000 each monthly salaries. According to well-placed sources these three are into their late 60s. Rashid was retired as joint secretary and Ashfaq was retired as deputy DG PSB and they are also enjoying full pensions besides being paid heavily.
It is pertinent to mention here that 67 persons were hired in the PSB as daily wagers during the previous government tenure. The then government formed a committee under the chair of former federal minister Syed Khursheed Shah and a cabinet sub-committee had ordered the regularisation of these 67 PSB employees. The file is still pending with the ministry of finance for the last six months or so and instead of regularisation of their services, 44 of them were shown the door, as they don't have any political backing despite being young and energetic. On the other hand, 23 managed to escape the axe just because of their strong political connections and strong backing from both DGs and above all the CBA of the board.
To make things even worst at one stage 44 employees services were terminated in the name of right sizing on 26th of this month and on the other hand to fulfil a vacant LDC post, a blue-eyed person namely Syed Farhat Hussain Zaidi was called on deputation from CAD and promoted as UDC and posted at Pakistan Sports Board Karachi office on the same date.
It is not the fault of the employees. It is the wrong policies of the previous government. Why they gave employment to excessive number of persons? All these persons had worked devotedly for the last three years or so. They deserve better treatment and law should be equal for all. If PSB is facing financial crunch and rightsizing is the only solution then those persons must be shown the door, who are getting double favours and enjoying heavy salaries besides other incentives. Sacking the low paid workers, who had no other source of income is a big injustice and keeping in mind the month of Ramazan, when everyone is preparing for Eid, what should these sacked persons do? They were getting only few thousand rupees, but they never lost hope and managed their day to day affairs. But now all of a sudden, they lost their only source of income. One of the sacked persons on condition of anonymity told this correspondent that he was paid around RS nine thousand monthly. “I used to spend only Rs 2000 during the entire month and send the remaining amount to my old parents as they have to feed my younger brothers and sisters. How would I face them? What should I am going to tell them? I was expecting to take few Eid gifts for them, but now I don't want to go to my village. I don't have the courage to face them.”
Meanwhile inside sources have confirmed to this scribe that newly appointed Inter Provincial Coordination Minister Riaz Pirzada had taken the notice of the situation and had verbally ordered the restoration of the employees, but after the passage of almost a week, nothing on ground has been done in this regard. The employees are waiting anxiously for a positive response from the minister.
Pakistan Sports Board must terminate the contracts of those high paid persons, who are doing nothing but enjoying heavy salaries besides getting other incentives. The axe should fall on the blessed ones not on the low ranked and ordinary persons, who are young and energetic and could play a major role in enhancing the reputation of the PSB. The sacked employees had requested the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhamamd Chaudhry to take notice of the grave injustice and order their reinstatement with immediate effect. “We are left with no other option but to stage a peaceful demonstration till the fulfilment of our genuine demands,” one of the sacked employees said. “We are dragged into this awkward position. We don't want to create any trouble but what should we do as we can't sit back and wait our children to die with hunger,” he concluded.