During Senate Standing Committee on IT’s meeting last week, the Ministry of Information Technology revealed that PTCL owed some Rs. 40 billion in pensions to retired PTCL workers.
This pension is now under the head of liabilities since PTCL didn’t increase pension rates as per government notifications — almost every year for several years — as it thought that the government rates didn’t apply on the company since it was private limited.
Pensioners, in response, moved to court and won the cases.
The ministry stated that the payment of Rs. 40 billion outstanding pensions to these employees would bankrupt the company.
Secretary Ministry of Information Technology Rizwan Bashir explained to the Senate Standing Committee,“We cannot ask the PTCL to pay such a huge amount, which is almost half the worth of the telecom company.”
The previous government increased pensions by 20%. That amount accumulated as the increased pensions remained unpaid by the company leading to a staggering 40 billion rupees in arrears. The Senate committee reminded the ministry to pay the 40,000 retired PTCL employees several times over this duration.
During Thursday’s meeting, Committee chairman Shahi Syed once again asked about the delay in paying the dues. “The government must think about the welfare of the retired employees and their widows instead of watching the interests of the company. The money means a huge difference in the lives of the poor,” said Shahi Syed.
Mr Syed also quoted Supreme Court order to pay the outstanding pensions to the former PTCL employees.
Read More: SC Orders PTCL to Restore Pension, Medical Allowances in a Week
In February 2016, the apex court had declared that retired employees of PTCL were entitled to the 20% increase in pensions. However, the ministry challenged the decision again and the matter is still stuck in court.
Secretary Bashir requested the committee to discuss the financial matters of the PTCL in an in-camera meeting, which was declined by the committee. Senators Rehman Malik and Rubina Khalid argued against keeping affairs pertaining to the PTCL secret.
“PTCL is more of a Pakistani company over 70pc ownership and the pension to be paid is public money,” said PPPP Senator Rubina Khalid.
Secretary Bashir asked for some time to share the exact amount of outstanding dues owed to the pensioners since Rs. 40 billion was an estimate.
Pm Nawaz should intervine and give wavier to ptcl. Government should pay all the funds future of 40000 employees is now in pm hands. Also ptcl is semi government company so employees should enjoy all the benefits which government employees enjoy.
Why should PTCL employees receive government pensions when PTCL was privatized in 2005/06? Yes the government has more than 60% shareholding but has less than 50% voting rights which means the company is controlled by Etisalat. Hence it is a private company. Why should I also not get more pension from my company then? This culture of entitlement among government servants must end.
When those retired people joined PTCL, It was 100 PC Govt owned company.
And it would already be in gutter like other govt departments if it wasn’t privatized.
Now paying old pensioners should be the govt duty when the govt still has got stakes in it.
Are you even aware of what you are saying?!?!
I am amazed at some of you guys. All it takes is a mouse and a keyboard (and on a tablet not even that) to become a philosopher, intellectual or expert, even if there is just air between the ears.
Did you even understand the repercussion of what you are saying?
You want to pay for the pensions from your pocket as a Pakistani tax-payer, so that a foreign company can make more profits, and send to its home country (which has recently taken several hostile measures against Pakistan and Pakistanis).
And this is a company that has not even paid us fully for the 23% shares it owns in PTCL.
Wow!
Again amazed at the air quality between your ears.
Numb nut, despite of what Etisalat did, they are still paying pension to pensioners who retired 40 years ago.
And this is another reason govt is not pushing Etisalat over and over again to pay its dues.
Wonderful. So that was the best you could do? “Numb-nut”?
Cannot blame your limited English vocabulary being restricted to street slangs . . as I had already mentioned about the air quality between your ears.
If you had done a wee bit of research (it is typed as: “g”, “o”, “o” “g”, “l” “e”), you would not have wasted all Pro-Pakistanis reader’s time by your frivolous and silly reply.
To sum up, you are saying that the Pakistan government is not pushing Etisalat (a private company) to pay the 800 million dollars owed to the government of Pakistan, because the pension they have to pay to their own staff (who were on payroll — current or pension), when they bought the company, continues to be due and payable?
Do you even read what you write, before pressing “enter”?
Etisalat is not doing any favors to anyone — this was all part of the deal, when they bought just 23% shares in the company for management control, they knew what they were getting into — its called “due diligence” in M&A.
The deal itself transpired perhaps only due to our corrupt politicians wanting to please their real masters, because after their power stints of looting poor Pakistanis money, they eventually have to go back to their “real homes” in Dubai and Jeddah.
Could they have done this anywhere else in the world?
Let me give you actual examples (since you are too lazy to research facts).
Look at what happened to them in India? Got kicked out of the country, and lost billions of dollars they invested there, and had to shut the company down and run away, with criminal cases against many of their top management!
More recently, a similar scenario repeated itself in Saudi Arabia. Find out what happened to their ex-CEO, and what were the charges against him, and where he is now?
Also, as a sub-note, find out where the management control of Mobily now is?
I can write down facts and figures for pages, but I hope instead of replying to my note, you will at least bother to read up facts first, and then use 100% of that peanut up yonder to muster a coherent and rational reply — may prove refreshingly new for you.
Instead of crying and complaining why don’t you buy this company and pay those poor pensioners from your own pocket?
Oh right you can’t afford it. Even if you work 100 more years you still won’t be able to do so.
I feel sorry for poor PTCL pensioners because sooner or later it is going to go bankrupt because of hud haram employees that are working for it who thinks they have got right on payments and pensions but working under that payment is not their duty.
Last thing, i know better slangs too. But disqus won’t let me post them.
Jaybee:
Can you please tell me what benefits Etisalat gives its own Emirati Nationals in UAE (including retirement, at what age and how much of the total salary and till when), as compared to what it pays expats specially Pakistanis in its own company, and how many Pakistanis (who created and established the company 40 years ago) today work at top positions?
Then compare that with how we treat our “locals” yanee Pakistanis here in a company we own 70%.
Please learn how the various countries in the world treat their own citizens, first, before trying to impress us with your business acumen and preach about the virtues of privatization.
Both democracy and Capitalism are failed concepts across the world now, at least one of which is thousands of years old, outdated and redundant in today’s circumstances.
This is my advice to you, first and foremost as a Pakistani with a heart, and then as a position holder business graduate from one of the top ten business schools in the world.
These PTCL Employees
Kaamchoor
Nikhattoo
Haramkhor
Deserve to be trialed in criminal courts for the trauma they have been causing to the the Ptcl customers
Agreed, and you are right about their being lazy. . however one wrong does not a make another wrong, right.
If our politicians instead of using government companies like political party office, where people are rewarded for votes by offers of jobs, and instead ran them like commercial concerns (like their own companies, which they seem to run extremely efficiently), we would not need to take one dime of loans from IMF or world bank!
Instead, political appointments from top to bottom are made, consumers also suffer, and eventually hundreds of billions of assets, and money of the poor people of Pakistan given away for pennies to foreigner.
Please also note that there is a HUGE security concern in giving your communication backbone to a foreign country.
no matter they have money or not PTCL Pensioners should pay full amount its very difficult to pay bills buying food in half pay
actually etisalat is not paying any thing good to serving and retired employees. even for the last 10 years it did not pay the actual price to the govt. uae govt wants to get 100% ptcl share in free and he will get it becaz till this time they are successful in their all plans against the pak govt.
Allow me to say Etisalat strategy
Decrease the stock rate into penuts so they can buy the rest shares.
Ptcl always employee incompetent and cheap higher management so that company always go nose down.
Refuse the resources so that liabilities squeeze.
They ll not pay $800m because they have earned a lot by not paying amount. Just imagine the interest on this $800m.
The incompetents CXOs are destroying company like termites and exactly according to the Etisalat strategy.
Committee talk about pension? Why they don’t discuss $800m and decreases of revenues and profits and slaughtering of employees??
Because all politicians have properties and business in Dubai. As far as these current political parties, forget about any justice from Etisalat.
Pensioners died on protest, employees jailed in terrorism fake cases, dozens of employees still suspended for the last five years there families ruined and their lives become hell. If you know the inviduals families stories you guys will bang ? your head on wall and scream. Small kids crying for milk and food. Few of house women started working at homes as a servant.
You can’t imagine what PTCL Etisalat have done with the women and children of our nation.
These committees are just to fill the presence and getting stypends. These all are the curropts politicians of there time.
So chill pill