‘Alarming’ social media posts: NADRA orders inquiry

Registration authority sees social media posts as aimed at maligning senior management

ISLAMABAD:

Country’s top registration authority has launched an inquiry into social media activities of its banned employees’ union after tracking some “objectionable posts”, which it considers an aim to malign senior management members.

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) management dubbed the posts “alarming” and appointed a director-general to conduct inquiry into the issue, according to documents available with The Express Tribune.

The move comes in light of a report by the Nadra’s vigilance directorate. The unit claims to have evidence of a few “malicious and negative posts, focusing on the character assassination of senior management on a page – All Pakistan Nadra Employees Union.”

“They [union] even tried to allege senior officers of sexual harassment of female employees, while some material of restricted nature has also been posted on the page,” reads the monitoring unit’s report.

A senior official of human resource directorate on condition of anonymity said the mandate of the inquiry committee was to fix responsibility on the employees involved.

The official added that the employees, who were the regular contributors to the page, and those who liked such posts, would be issued show-cause notices. The employees have already been barred from forming a union.

“After denying the employees of the fundamental right to form a union the latest move by the management is tantamount to muzzling the freedom of expression,” said Gauhar Ayub Marwat, a former general-secretary of the All Pakistan Nadra Employees Union.

Harassment of employees is nothing new at the Nadra. In Sept last, the management terminated seven union office-bearers including former president Saleem Sherpao and him, Marwat said.

The sacked employees had held a demonstration against the management for its failure to devise service structure as promised by its chairman in March last year.

Marwat told The Express Tribune that in March 2015, the management had decided in a meeting that the employees would be provided a harassment-free environment. Later, the minutes were changed, which read “It is clarified that the points [harassment-free environment and transfer/posting] are hereby deleted from the scope of the regional working committees.”

“All the Nadra employees fall under Essential Services Group,” a recent circular issued by the management over the issue of union activity reads.

In 2012, some 61 employees were sacked for protesting in favour of their demands.

The management is of the view that trade union activity is illegal.

Marwat, however, alleged that they were terminated in “violation of service rules”.

Despite several attempts, the Nadra chairman was unavailable for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2016.