Arguments sought from PSM lawyer

A labour court directed on Monday the counsel representing Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to give arguments over the PSM CEO’s plea seeking permission to terminate over 50 per cent of PSM workers.

The petitioner maintained in the plea that operating PSM was no longer possible, claiming that the steel mill had become a liability for Pakistan’s treasury and therefore, the federal government had decided to privatise it.

He stated that more workers were required to be dismissed while the massive industrial complex had to be reformed. The plea moved the court to allow the termination of over 50 per cent of the organisation’s workers under Section 11A.

The court observed that the PSM was Pakistan’s backbone, and it therefore must be considered whether workers could be fired in such large numbers, whether they could be terminated during the pandemic, whether there was a settlement about to be made and whether the PSM could file a case in the labour court in this regard or not.

The court directed the PSM counsel to satisfy it with arguments on these factors at the next hearing and adjourned the hearing until January 6.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2020.