Govt Okays Rs 31 billion for PSM
ECC approves two financial packages to retire the liabilities of PSM’s employees
Aftab Ahmed
The Federal Government has approved a cumulative financial package of Rs 31.34 billion for employees of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).
But the government says that it would not bear further liabilities of PSM employees.
The government has approved these two financial packages planes submitted with superior courts for Pakistan Steel Mills employees, it is learned reliably on Tuesday.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved a retrenchment plan of Rs 19.66 billion for the employees of the PSM.
A senior government official told Newztodays.com that the Ministry of Industry and Production had submitted this plan to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
However, ECC said that the PSM’s payment should be final once for all. It will not accrue any further liability against PSM, the government of Pakistan.
Under another plan, ECC also approved Rs 11.68 billion for non-litigant retired employees of PSM. However, the CEO of the PSM would authenticate the arrears of the retired employees with secretary finance.
The government had also submitted the retrenchment plan to the Supreme Court. The plan would reduce the financial burden on the national exchequer.
https://newztodays.com/ecc-directs-to-ascertain-the-exact-amount-of-liabilities-payable-by-psm/
The government is regularly spending a huge amount to pay off PSM’s differential financial liabilities. The ministry of Industries had completed a plan as a result of a long time. However, the Ministry urged the ECC to approve the plan.
The Federal Government had deposited Rs 11.68 billion to retire the arrears of non-litigant 3978 employees.
The PML-N government had given a bailout package in 2015 that led to 42% capacity utilization.
However, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) had surprisingly cut the gas supplies. As a result, the management of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) shut down the sick unit. Since 2015, the government has not been able to start it.
The government had put PSM on the privatization list for a long while. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan issued directives to delist it from privatization.
