Rescue official’s dismissal overturned

ACS finds contract extension process contrary to policy

LAHORE:

The home department has declared the process adopted by Rescue 1122 for extending the contract of its employees as contrary to the Contract Employment Policy 2004.

Additional Chief Secretary Momin Agha stated this while cancelling the termination orders of a grade-17 female officer issued by the rescue service.

The officer had failed to appear for physical test declared mandatory for contract extension. She claimed she could not appear because of an accident. The officer had reportedly submitted an application for getting another opportunity for the test. However, her service was terminated.

She approached the Lahore High Court, which asked the home department to decide the matter according to the law after listening to both parties.

Additional Chief Secretary Agha issued an order against the dismissal of Emergency Officer Roohi Naeem on December 28, declaring that the the process was in violation of the Contract Appointment Policy 2004. The employee had been appointed as per the policy. Under the Punjab Emergency Service Leave, Efficiency and Discipline Rules 2004, extension of service contract is subject to appearance in interview. The issue is also reportedly affecting regularisation of employees.

The Punjab Emergency Council in October also asked for regularisation of the rescue employees. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had also made a promise in this regard.

However, Rescue 1122 authorities asked the rescuers to file formal applications for regularisation. It also asked the rescuers to go through physical, written and psychological tests, following the the same process as they had gone through at the time of recruitment.

A rescue officer said the regularisation should have been done through an executive order.

Agha stated in the order that Deputy Director Human Resources Foad Shahzad and Roqayya Bano had represented Rescue 1122 in the hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2021.