PR salaries delayed due to grant-in-aid

ISLAMABAD:

Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Muhammad Usman Awaisi informed the National Assembly on Friday that lower cadre staff of Pakistan Railways have been receiving delayed salaries due to reliance on grant-in-aid provided by the Ministry of Finance.

He was responding to a calling attention notice from MNA Aliya Kamran, who raised concerns over the late payment of monthly salaries to railway employees, causing public unease.

Awaisi explained that the disbursement of salaries is contingent upon the release of grant-in-aid, which refers to financial support given by the government to public entities for specific purposes, as defined in a notification by the Finance Division.

He emphasized that the delay occurs because the Finance Ministry disburses the grant-in-aid at the beginning of the month. To ensure timely salary payments, he suggested that the grant should be released at the end of the previous month.

Awaisi expressed his support for the affected employees and assured the assembly that he would raise the issue with the Ministry of Finance and Revenue, seeking a resolution based on the concerns raised in the calling attention notice.

The mover, MNA Aliya Kamran, said the issue has persisted over the past three years and the former minister for railways Khawaja Saad Rafique had vowed to address the matter.

She underlined that almost 85% of this staff belonged to the lower cadres who were given salaries on the 17th, 18th, and 19th day of every month that made it impossible to manage their household expenditures.

The pensions, gratuity, leave encashment payments were delayed, leaving the retired employees unable to get their post-retirement benefits, she added.