ISLAMABAD: Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar has criticized the statement of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on sacking over 4,500 employees of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).
Responding to Bilawal’s statement, Hammad Azhar said he wanted to remind everyone that it was during the PPP government’s tenure that the PSM went from a profit-making entity with billions in its bank account to a heavy loss-making and bankrupt entity. “Capacity was taken down to 40 percent and then PML-N shut it down in 2015,” the minister added.
Let me remind everyone that it was during PPP tenure that PSM went from a profit making entity with billions in bank account to a heavy loss making and bankrupt entity.
Capacity was taken down to 40% and then PMLN shut it down in 2015. https://t.co/DPEg9tvDrJ— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) November 28, 2020
Earlier the day, reacting to Friday’s reported development, Bilawal termed the Centre’s move heartless and vowed that his party would “return each and everyone back to work”.
“The land of this historical industrial asset belongs to the people of Sindh, we will not let the PTI get away with this economic murder,” he tweeted. “Sack Imran not workers,” Bilawal added.
The heartless government’s sacked 4500 workers of Pakistan Steel mills. PPP will return each & everyone back to work. The land of this historical industrial asset belongs to the people of Sindh, we will not let the PTI get away with this economic murder. Sack Imran not workers.
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) November 28, 2020
More than 4,500 employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills were fired on Friday after an emergency meeting chaired by the organization’s chief executive officer.
The spokesman of PSM said the employees belonging to category 2,3, and 4 pay groups had been dismissed from their jobs and that dismissal letters had been sent via post to all those impacted.
The federal government had already approved the retrenchment of all the 9,350 remaining employees of the PSM with a one-time severance cost of about Rs20 billion in June.
