The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has stopped the third instalment of dues of 614 employees, who were reinstated in 2009 by the federal government, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to rules, all dues should have been paid by January but still employees were waiting for their dues. SNGPL employees were sacked by the PML-N federal government in 1997 over the pretext that these employees were appointed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) during its government from 1993 to 1996 on political basis. But the present federal government reinstated these employees through the Sacked Employees Ordinance 2009 and the employees were reinstated on January 6, 2010. It was also decided that dues would be paid to them from the date of their sacking in three instalments. The federal government allocated Rs 158 million for clearing the dues of these employees. The OGRA transferred the amount to SNGPL for clearing the dues of these employees in three equal instalments.
According to terms, SNGPL should have transferred the first instalment within seven days of the reinstatement while the second instalment should be paid within 180 days of reinstatement while third instalment was to be paid in 360 days. SNGPL paid only two instalments to these employees and was not clearing the last instalment. Sources said that OGRA had already transferred complete funds to the SNGPL for paying the employees but SNGPL was not passing it onto the reinstated employees. The first instalment of Rs 53.93 million was given to 614 employees on September 11, 2010 while the second instalment was paid on April 21. One of such employees told Pakistan Today that, “The ordinance says that we should be given all dues by January 2011 but so far we have been given only two instalments, one in January and second in April,” adding that now the management was not telling that when would they clear the third instalment. Quoting Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), he said that the SSGC had already cleared all instalments to its reinstated employees. “There is no difference in the case of SSGC and SNGPL employees, as both were reinstated on the same date and through similar ordinance,” he added.