KARACHI - More than 5,000 junior officers (JO) of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) threatened to launch a massive protest against the lethargic attitude of management as they have been suffering since last 16 years and struggling for the restoration of Career Planning Policy (CPP) which was made by the PPP government in 1988 but unilaterally abolished by Chairman Lt Gen (r) Sabeeh Qamaruzaman in June 1992. The recent moves of JO in shape of two massive gatherings have showed their anguish and compelled the management to constitute a committee in this regard. The leaders of Pakistan Steel Peoples Workers Union (PWU) have also assured the JOs for restoration of CPP as the newly CBA chairman and the president both were demoted in 1996 and placed into labour cadre. While after triumph in the referendum, the PWU announced that it would talk to the management for the restoration of the CPP and would bring back the JOs into labour cadre to strengthen the power of workers. The CPP was introduced by the PPP-backed CBA in Nov 1988 through an agreement with the management as under the policy Group-7 employees would get promotion into new category of High Skilled Worker (HSW). According to the category form HSW-1 to HSW-3, the employees under these groups come under the definition of worker and should be governed by Labour Laws. The PSM management in 1989 had promoted more than 9,000 employees of the Group-7 into HSW but Chairman PSM Lt Gen (R) Sabeeh Qamaruzaman in June 1992 unilaterally abolished the Career Planning Policy saying that CPP was inherently wrong and employees who were engaged in supervisory capacity and similarly in HSW-1 to HSW-3 are disqualified from the definition of workmen while all the HSW workers have been converted into JO and arrears and other payments made in excess of their dues. Gen (r) Sabeeh abolished the CPP to weak the labor union and controlled the activities of employees while since abolishment of CPP none of the JO was promoted and deprived of other incentives. In 2005, Chairman PSM Gen (r) Abdul Qayyum assured the JOs of their promotion but he only promoted 107 out of 5,000 to Assistant Manager cadre while at the same time promoted 800 Assistant Managers to Deputy Managers out of total 1,000. The sixteen year-old struggle of JOs got momentum when they observed 7th June as "Black Day" and organised a big protest meeting at Gulshan-e-Hadeed and demanded the Co-Chairman of PP Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Federal Production Minister and Chairman Pakistan Steel to abolish the order of Lt Gen (r) Sabeeh Qamaruzaman and restored the Career Planning Policy. The massive gatherings of JO also compelled the newly appointed Cahirman Moeen Aftab Sheik to constitute a four members committee to solve the problems of the JOs. The committee under the leadership of Director Administration and Personal Brigadier (r) Abdul Qayyum has been working to solve the issue. The representatives of JOs only demanding the restoration of Career Planning Policy and do not ready to accept any other formula. It is pertinent to mention here that JOs are performing major jobs in various department and are considered back bone of PSM as more than 90 percent JOs involved in production department and if their long lasting demand would not be fulfilled they would go on strike which cause severe damages to the production.