Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hamad Azhar, while defending the government's decision to expel thousands of employees from Pakistan Steel Mills, said that the government has already paid Rs 55 billion in pensions and salaries and Rs 750 million monthly salaries to the employees of closed mills. I have to pay. At present, there are 670 employees of Steel Mills. The employees who are being laid off will be paid an average of Rs. 2.3 million per employee.
Addressing the press conference, Hamad Azhar said that Pakistan Steel Mills is a national asset but what happened in the past is a story of corruption, we had to make difficult decisions to straighten it out, in 2008 Steel Mills was a for-profit company. At that time, there were Rs 8 billion in the accounts of steel mills. Hamad Azhar said that we know that there will be politics on this issue. If timely decisions had been taken, it would not have cost so much money.
The Federal Minister further said that the losses of national institutions are more than Rs 2,000 billion. The losses of government institutions are more than our defense budget. However, he claimed that the steel mill went into deficit during the PPP era and the steel during the PML-N era. The mills were closed but the government worked for the economic improvement of the steel mills and the steel mills were given a bailout package of Rs 92 billion. Offering to lease the steel mills to the Sindh government, he said that the steel mills 1300 acres of land will be leased. We invite the Sindh government to come and participate in the open bidding. If the Sindh government gives the highest bid, take it.
It may be recalled that the federal government yesterday sacked 4,544 employees of Pakistan Steel Mills, the largest national steel company, among the employees who have been sacked, apart from Pay Group 2, 3, and 4 juniors. Officers (JOs), Assistant Managers, Divisional Managers, DCEs, DGMs, and Managers are also included. According to the spokesperson, dismissal letters have been sent to the employees by post.
