The protesting employees of National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) have said that they would not budge an inch from their principled position and vowed that they would protest until acceptance of their 15-piont charter of demands.
The protest sit-in of the employees of NCHD continued outside National Press Club for the last 40 days, but the government has yet to take any action to address their concerns.
The NCHD, which was established in 2002, is a department working under Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training with around 3000 employees.
The mission of the commission is to improve access to basic education and healthcare in the country’s poorest communities and presently covered 134 districts across the country.
However, the employees were often seen on roads staging protest demonstrations for their rights despite regularisation of their services back in 2012. The employees pleaded that during regularisation process, they were given two options either to opt regularisation or quit the job.
They were of the view that around 2551 employees were regularised, but yet to get the due rights despite running from pillar to post from the last several years, while the 82 employees who refused the option were allowed to work as contractual employees in sheer violation of the set rules and enjoyed all perks and privileges.
More than 200 employees of the department from across the country gathered for implementation of Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision regarding revision of grades of the department employees, demanding that the court decision pertaining to revision of Basic Pay Scale (BPS) of the staff should be implemented forthwith.
They said that all illegal steps and directives should be declared void and contractual employees and illegal consultants should be fired instantly.
Talking to Pakistan Today, provincial representatives of Employees Association NCHD including Sikandar Jilani, Attaullah, Bahadur, Riaz, Anwar and Sardar Shaid said that the previous government regularised them, but did not give proper pay scale; hence the association moved IHC for the scales and succeeded in getting decision in its favour.
However, they lamented that the Education Ministry did not implement the decision that was the reason the association again approached the court for contempt which ordered for the compliance of previous orders, but they have yet to get their rights hitherto.
“There are a total of 2943 sanctioned posts, but at present there are 2551 regulars employees, but the commission is getting the amount against the total sanctioned posts illegally and are being paid handsome salaries to the contractual employees unlawfully,” they added.
They said that NCHD Chairperson Razina Alam Khan should be instantly removed from her post, because she was not only occupying the position illegally, but was giving undue favour to the contractual employees at the cost of the regular employees, adding that she was the major stumbling block in implementation of the decisions relating to the NCHD employees.
According to the minutes of a DAC meeting held on Audit Paras of NCHD for financial year 2014-15 on June 2016, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, it was recommended that NCHD paid pay and allowance of contract staff despite the fact that cabinet committee regularised all employees of the commission their pay and allowances were not re-fixed after regularisation in national basic pay scales; hence matter may be inquired and responsibility should be fixed.
The IHC on December 17, 205 ordered correction of discriminative, anomalies with regard to NCHD grade equivalence with Basic Education Community Schools (BECS).
As an outcome of the comparative exercise carried out between departments of NCHD and BECS, NCHD prepared a revised proposal as per order of IHC.
However, the ministry didn’t implement the decision and Employees Association NCHD went in contempt of court which again issued orders for the implementation on the decision. The ministry in last month issued the notification regarding revision of NCHD employees’ grade.
“In pursuance of IHC’s order dated January 31 in contempt petition to non-compliance with the order passed by IHC and subsequently NOC issued by Establishment Division vide order dated February 14 ,2017 the following positions of NCHD Islamabad are revised with immediate effect,” states notification. Total number of employees whose grade was revised was 2943 as per notification.
Five positions of BS-19, 72 of BS-18,309 of BS17, 1770 of BS-16, 133 posts of BS-14, 11 of BS-09, 69 of BS-07, 278 of BS-04, 296 of BS-04 for security guards were revised as per notification.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Razina Alam Khan said that she was making all-out efforts to resolve all their genuine demands and the issues were being taken up with concerned ministries and departments.
However, she said that they unnecessarily politicised the issue as leaders of major political parties were visiting there to use the issue for political mileage. Razina said that the poor employees were hijacked by handful people who thought they might get undue favour by building pressure.
To a question, she said that she was doing her job as honorary and getting nothing in return and added that most of the contractual employees were low grade employees such as drivers, gardeners and sweepers and guards so efforts were afoot to get them regularised.
The response given by Chairperson is contrary to the facts and is a white lie, she has admitted in senate sub committe that total 82 persons are on contract basis. They are not drivers and gardeners but have given them two to three shoulders promotions and alloted them senior most positions in NCHD and are drawing hand some pakage.
They have diverted regularizations process to cintunue their illegal perks and previllages. CP is party with the contractuals and backing them to continue the illegal system in the department to deprive 2951 regular employees from their due rights.
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