Peshawar UET told to regularise contract staff

CJ says employees who have served for three or more years can be regularised

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday has directed the Peshawar University of Engineering and Technology (UET) to regularise its contractual employees who have been serving for almost a decade.

This direction was issued by a two-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), comprising SC Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, as it heard a petition regarding the regularisation of 300 employees of the varsity .

The court asked under which law were these employees not regularised and whether their services are counted in the varsity’s budget or not.

Chief Justice Ahmed inquired if the university had advertised the vacant positions or not.

The counsel representing UET said that only some of the posts have been advertised while others were filled through the university’s syndicate.

At this, Justice Ahsan asked what will become of the people who have been serving the institution for the past eight years. At this, the chief justice remarked that as per the law, only contractual employees who have served for three or more years, can be regularised.

He stated that the institutions do not run according to the will of the syndicate and vice-chancellors (VC).

“You cannot oust a person from his job,” the court remarked.

Justice Ahsan asked why did the UET want to hire new employees, adding what is the problem in regularising those already serving on contract.

“All of them are low-grade employees,” the court said, adding that if it heard the case, it could open a pandora’s box which will take years to conclude. What will happen if the decision comes in favour of the employees, the chief justice asked.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2020.