Pakistan Parliament Regularization Bill – PPP Employees
- The Pakistani parliament is considering a bill aimed at providing legal protection to employees who where regularized approximately two decades ago by a cabinet subcommittee lead by Syed...
- The bill, titled "The Protection of Rights of Regularised Civil Servants and Employees Bill, 2024," seeks to formalize the regularization process that occurred under the Shah-led subcommittee.
- The need for this legislation stems from a recent supreme Court ruling.Last year, the court ordered that the regularization process be restarted through the Federal Public Service Commission...
Pakistan Considers Bill to Legalize Regularized Employees After Two Decades
Table of Contents
What Happened?
The Pakistani parliament is considering a bill aimed at providing legal protection to employees who where regularized approximately two decades ago by a cabinet subcommittee lead by Syed Khursheed Shah. Around 5,000 employees in Basic Pay Scale (BPS) 16 and above were regularized during the Pakistan peoples Party (PPP) government from 2008 to 2013. However, a notable portion – roughly 20% – of these employees have already retired.
The bill, titled “The Protection of Rights of Regularised Civil Servants and Employees Bill, 2024,” seeks to formalize the regularization process that occurred under the Shah-led subcommittee. The government asserts that this move will not impose any additional financial burden on the national treasury, as these employees have been receiving salaries commensurate with their positions as their regularization.
The supreme Court ruling and FPSC Involvement
The need for this legislation stems from a recent supreme Court ruling.Last year, the court ordered that the regularization process be restarted through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). This was due to concerns that the initial regularizations were conducted without the required tests and interviews. However, the majority of employees regularized by the subcommittee were non-gazetted positions, meaning they were not initially required to go through the FPSC process.
The current proposal aims to circumvent the need for re-regularization through the FPSC,arguing that requiring these long-serving employees to undergo examinations after 15-25 years of service presents an insurmountable challenge.
Financial Implications
A key argument in favor of the bill is that it will not create any new financial liabilities. The brief presented to parliament indicates that all employees were regularized against existing sanctioned posts with allocated budgets. They have been consistently paid salaries aligned with their roles since their regularization.
Political Context and Bill Sponsorship
Syed Khursheed Shah,the original mover of the bill,is currently unwell and unable to present it in parliament. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is expected to table the bill on his behalf. The bill’s introduction reflects a continuing effort to address the regularization issue that began during the PPP government.