LAHORE: Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Javed Iqbal has sought a detailed report about the daily wagers who had served for many years and were sacked after being considered as temporary employees appointed during the monsoon season.
The decision was taken after an uproar against the termination of more than 1000 daily wagers. WASA spokesman Imitaz Ahmed told Pakistan Today that WASA MD had directed all SDOs to prepare a report on the complete case history of all daily wagers.
The report would separate those hired for monsoon period from those appointed for regular functioning, he added. He said that it was not the first time that they had dismissed daily wagers hired for monsoon; it was a routine practice.
WASA official clarified that termination was not carried out to counter the financial deficit standing at Rs. 1.9 billion and around 30 million had been allocated in budget as a regular practice as well.
Sources in WASA alleged that the issue was instigated by some union leaders backed by some PML-N leaders.
“Our politicians considered it their basic rights to barge into affairs of the department in the name of citizen’s wellbeing,” they said, “Even if they know the truth, the desire for popularity forces them to act against the rules.”
