KDA reinstates salaries for 53 suspended employees

The Karachi Development Authority (KDA) has revoked the orders to withhold the salaries of 53 employees.

Allegations surfaced that the KDA Secretary included legitimate employees on a list of suspected fraudulent hires, which had led to a controversy.

Reportedly, the KDA Secretary had suspended the salaries of these 53 employees, accusing them of suspicious or fake recruitment, without prior investigation, which led to significant unrest among the staff. In a response to the suspension, labour unions like People's Labour Bureau, People's Labour Union, and KDA's Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) protested, highlighting that employees hired before 2016 were mistakenly categorised as suspicious.

Earlier, both the Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani and the KDA Director General Syed Shujaat Hussain have intervened, deciding to release the withheld salaries while investigations continue.

It was also announced that investigations will proceed to address concerns about suspicious and fraudulent recruitments.

The KDA Secretary's initial decision to withhold salaries without a thorough investigation had sparked significant unrest. The minister and the KDA DG's intervention has led to the release of these funds whereas an impartial investigation is set to determine the legitimacy of the accused recruitments.