Mandatory retirement package on anvil

Proposals for employees of ministries facing the axe

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has decided to introduce a mandatory retirement package for the employees of the ministries, divisions and departments which would be abolished under the government austerity drive, official documents have shown.

According to the documents, the finance ministry has approved a hybrid package for the Pakistan Works Department (PWD) employees, and decided that the employees of other institutions, being restructured, will also be given similar packages.

Under PWD package, employees with 10 years of service will be paid a lumpsum amount equal to one and a half per-month basic salary for the remaining period in their age of retirement.

Those employees, whose tenure of service extends beyond 10 years will be given a monthly pension along with lumpsum amount equal to one and a half per-month basic salary for the remaining period in their age of retirement.

The federal government has finalised the severance package for compulsory retirement plan, which will also be included in the Civil Servants Act, 1977. The amendments to the Civil Servants Act, 1973 will be approved by the federal cabinet.

According to the document available to The Express Tribune, similar packages would be applied to the employees of any federal institutions or ministries, which will be restructured under the austerity drive.

The package would be applied to the employees on the dissolution of ministries, and merger of departments. Any employee who does not accept the compulsory retirement package would be terminated from service.

The government employee, however, will be allowed to submit an application to a committee to be formed by the prime minister within seven days. The committee will decide on the civil servant's application within 30 days. At present, according to the documents, summaries containing four different types of proposals for the severance package for the employees of the abolished or merged ministries and departments are under active consideration.

The proposals include a lumpsum amount equal to 10 basic salaries for the officials with 10 years of service; one and a half basic salaries for those with 10-20 years of service and two per-month basic salaries for those with more than 20 years of service.

A second summary proposes gratuity and pensions. It says that employees with less than 5 years of service would not be given anything; those with 5-10 years of service to get gratuity of one basic pay to the age of retirement. Pension will be given to those with more than 10 years of service.

The third summary, moved by Establishment Division, recommended that employees with 10 years of service be paid one-fourth, and one-half gross per month salaries on service of 10-20 years.