Surplus category: OGDC to keep excess staff in reserve pool

Step will ease some of company’s burden as it is losing billions

ISLAMABAD:

The board of directors of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), the largest oil and gas explorer in the country, has decided to set up a reserve pool for keeping surplus employees of the company - a step taken as part of its austerity programme, officials say.

These excess employees will be sent home, though they will continue to receive salaries. The board has also approved a cut in incentives for the company employees after a decline in profits.

This will ease some of the burden of the company at a time when it is facing a loss of billions of rupees due to the plunge in global oil prices. OGDC saw its net earnings drop almost one-fifth to Rs16 billion in the October-December quarter of 2015, financial results show.

However, officials suggest that the move appears to be aimed at creating space for the appointment of some blue-eyed boys in the company.

The OGDC management, coming under pressure from the board of directors, has taken some decisions for hiring close relatives of the board members on key positions and at hefty packages. This belies the very objective of the austerity drive undertaken to ease the strain on finances.

Earlier, OGDC hired two officials, who were believed to be close to the board chairman and a board member, on key posts and at lucrative packages. The matter was even taken up in a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources. Apart from these, an external communications manager is being appointed at a high pay package in violation of set criteria. This candidate is also believed to be a close relative of a member of the company board.



According to documents, OGDC has issued an offer letter to Muhammad Zeshan for his appointment as the external communications manager with a monthly package of Rs350,000.

The management had advertised the post on July 4, 2015, seeking applications from candidates having a master’s degree with 12 to 14 years of relevant experience, particularly in media management, media and public relations.

However, Zeshan held experience of working in the accounts department of an unknown company - Loom Creatives - and dealt in food, telecom and IT services. This shows that the applicant lacks the relevant experience required to fill the slot.

Talking to The Express Tribune, OGDC Managing Director Zahid Mir acknowledged that the board had agreed to create the reserve pool where surplus employees would be placed.

However, he said the company still required 600 technical workers, adding unskilled staff members would be entered into the reserve pool.

Responding to a question as to why the company was going to hire the external communications manager in violation of the criteria, Mir insisted that the applicant was a reasonable man and the company had issued an offer letter to him which could not be withdrawn.

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

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