Seniority dispute stalls promotions at DC office

FAISALABAD:

Promotions of dozens of clerical and non-clerical employees in grades 1 to 16 at the Deputy Commissioner's Office have reportedly remained pending for years, with staff members attributing the delay to unresolved administrative and service-related issues.

Several employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that no meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) had been convened since 2018, despite repeated representations to the deputy commissioner. They said some employees had retired without receiving promotions, while others were approaching retirement with their career progression still undecided. The employees linked the issue to administrative changes introduced under the devolution system in 2001, when the Commissioner's Office was abolished and its staff distributed among district offices. They alleged that some employees from the former Commissioner's Office and other departments continued working in the DC Office without a clear adjustment of their service status.

They said the Board of Revenue, through a letter dated February 7, 2020, had directed that former Commissioner's Office employees be repatriated according to their previous seniority, while staff belonging to other departments should return to their parent departments.