LAHORE: A meeting to discuss enhancement in welfare measures for non-gazetted officials of the Punjab government was held on Wednesday at Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Conference Room, Civil Secretariat Lahore with the Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Farhan Aziz Khawaja in chair.
The meeting was given presentation by Punjab Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) Additional Secretary (Administration) Irfan Ali Kathia regarding upgradation process of government officials during the last two years by the S&GAD.
According to the briefing, provincial finance department had already upgraded the posts of all the junior clerks, senior clerks, head clerks, assistants and superintendents all over the province through a circular letter issued on January 4, 2016.
Through another letter issued on the same date, the finance department had given approval to time-scale promotion for all the technical and non-technical cadres of Punjab government officials from BPS-5 to BPS-16.
According to another letter issued by the finance department on January 1, 2016, all government officials from BPS-1 to BPS-4 were upgraded while technical posts related to various cadres were upgraded on July 26, 2016. Contract employees of the Punjab government working till March 1, 2013, from BPS-1 to BPS-15 had already been regularised permanently according to a notification of S&GAD (Regulation Wing) through a notification issued on March 2, 2013.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government was far ahead as compared to the other provincial governments in facilitating the low paid government employees so that their social problems could be mitigated.
Additional Chief Secretary Farhan Aziz Khawaja reiterated on the occasion that the Punjab government would continue to do so following the public welfare oriented vision of the Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the days to come.
He pointed out that the matter regarding transfers of non-gazetted government employees at the district level did not fall in the jurisdiction of provincial S&GAD, adding that this matter was related to the relevant local governments.
As far as upgradation of government employees from technical cadres was concerned, the provinces other than Punjab were unable to benefit their technical employees, while the Punjab government had accomplished this welfare oriented task in July last year, Khawaja concluded.