The Economic Coordination Committee has on Thursday approved three months’ salaries i.e. for the months of June, July and August, 2016 for employees of the Pakistan Steel Mill.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
The meeting improved upon the previous practice of approving two months salaries, and instead approved provision of 3 months salaries for the employees of the PSM keeping in view the hardship of employees’ families.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research gave a detailed presentation regarding supply position of grain pulse and its prices in the international market.
The Chair directed the ministry to monitor supply position and prices of gram pulse to cater the country’s demand. ECC also asked the ministry to co-ordinate with the provincial governments for ensuring price control and steady supply of gram pulse in the market.
The ECC of the Cabinet approved issuance of sovereign guarantee in respect of Syndicated Term Finance Facility amounting to Rs. 136.5 billion for the power sector.
The decision was taken on the request of the Ministry of Water and Power as the Power Holding (Private) Limited is a public sector entity, and will be responsible for arranging loan amounting to Rs. 136.5 billion for power sector companies.
ECC allowed Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources for replacement of Lower Zakum crude price with Das Blend crude price to determine basket price for oil refineries.
The ministry apprised the ECC that previously the Lower Zakum crude oil was included for determining basket price of crude being supplied to oil refineries in Pakistan.
The Platts Global Alert has stopped publishing the price of the Lower Zakum crude oil and so the requisite replacement was accorded.
The approval of salary for the month of June, July and August by the Finance Minister is a welcome step and will certainly help to alleviate the difficulties being faced by the families of about 15000 employees. For the future, payment of regular and timely salary should be ensured.
This is an adhoc and bare minimum relief. Still a lot of dues of the serving and retired employees are payable. Concerted attention is required to solve the problems of the enterprise as well as its work force on permanent bases.
Concrete and immediate steps should be taken to make the entity functional, productive and viable with which not only the sustenance and survival of 15000 families is inseparably attached but which has got the potential to become an important contributor to the economic and infrastructure development of the country and save billions of foreign exchange spent on the import of steel.
Steel industry is the mother of industries. Scores of downstream industries around PSM are giving production and jobs to the people and 14000 acres of land reserved for downstream industries is still lying vacant for more than 30 years now, which must be utilized.