Govt mulls sacking all PSM workers

Senate panel told targeted subsidy will be launched at Utility Stores

ISLAMABAD:

The government’s decision to dismiss the remaining employees of Pakistan Steel Mills by giving them a “golden handshake” is under consideration.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Subzwari.

The ministry’s officials told the committee that earlier the price of scrap steel was $250 per metric ton and now it had jacked up to $510 per metric ton.

For bridges and high-rise buildings, tachyons were made using scrap steel, they added.

The officials said five million tons of steel were being imported annually. The domestic production of steel was seven to eight million tons.

Read Reactivating PSM oxygen plant costly business

The ministry said the decision of the government to lay off the remaining employees of PSM was also under consideration.

The officials said between Rs9 billion and 10 billion would send all the employees home.

They added that the government had been paying the PSM workers for the last six years.

Each employee will receive more than Rs1 million under the golden handshake.

An investment of Rs165 billion was needed to reactivate the steel mill and 15 of 45 days had passed to find international partners.

On January 1 this year, a new company was formed and its assets included 1,228 acres of the steel mill.

The company has been given federal ownership and all arrears were the responsibility of the PSM.

The committee was informed that the government had decided to start targeted subsidies at Utility Stores.

Only poor people will be given subsidy on the stores and for this purpose, a subsidy card programme would be launched. Others will be sold items at the market rate.

This year, Utility Stores have made Rs114 billion in sales and the corporation was running in profit.

The officials said before 2007, utility stores were running in profit.

The government decided to open 6,000 stores at the union council level on the condition that the government would provide subsidies.

The theft at Utility Stores was due to a lack of digitisation.

On September 13, 1,000 stores would be digitised, the officials informed the committee.

Senator Saifullah Niazi maintained that people had so suffer humiliation to buy only two kilogrammes of sugar.

The officials said currently 90 Utility Stores were running at a loss.