LHC seeks reply on job case pending for over a decade

Petitioner is Process Server (BS-1) in Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Justice Ali Baqar Najafi sought a reply from the Labour and Human Resource Department secretary by December 2 on a petition that revealed a matter of job which had not been decided in the past 10 years despite the court orders.

Petitioner Syed Hafeez Ahmad Shah claimed he had been running from pillar to post in the past decade in Civil Secretariat for redressal of his grievances but all in vain.

In his petition, he contended that “no one was ready to hear him, officials in the secretariat had directed him to visit other offices but his matter was not decided despite the orders of the LHC”.

The petitioner was working as Process Server (BS-1) in the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal, Lahore, but he was transferred to Rawalpindi “illegally and unlawfully” in violation of transfer policy of the government of Punjab vide order dated May 14, 2002.

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He then filed the departmental appeal before the respondent Labour and Human Resource Department secretary who had directed him to appear in his office for personal hearing but to no avail.

Later, the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal was abolished on June 20, 2003, and he was told that his departmental appeal would be heard by respondent services and general administration department additional chief secretary for further disposal but nothing happened.

The Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal was re-established in 2008 and he was directed to contact the Labour and Human Resource Department secretary. He has not been paid salary since 2003.

Later, he decided to move the LHC where orders were passed on December 10, 2009, to the respondent officers to decide his departmental appeal within two weeks of the receipt of this order. He had been repeatedly visiting the offices of the respondents and provided them with certified copies of the court order but to date, the order passed by LHC has not been complied with.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2019.