The closure of the Utility Stores Corporation has left its employees unpaid, with more than a third of August already gone without salaries.
Workers say they are facing financial hardship after the federal government shut down the operations of corporation on 31 July. Syed Arif Hussain Shah, Secretary General of the Employees Union, attributed the recent financial troubles of Utility Stores to what he described as flawed government policies.
He accused ministers of presenting misleading statements in the National Assembly regarding the status of corporation and claimed that the committee headed by Rana Sanaullah had failed to deliver on commitments made to the workforce.
Read More: All Utility Stores in Pakistan Officially Closed Now
Shah alleged that preparations were underway to sell billions of rupees worth of fixed assets at extremely low prices. He called the shutdown a violation of an existing court stay order, saying that closing the corporation without due legal process breached the Constitution and labor laws.
According to him, the government’s decision reflected a pursuit of personal ego over public interest. He vowed that employees would continue to defend their rights, warning that failure to honor promises could lead to another workers’ sit-in in Islamabad.
Earlier this year, employees had staged a lengthy protest in the federal capital against the planned closure. That demonstration ended after negotiations with the government, which pledged to address the workers’ concerns.