KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday threw out a petition filed by the Pakistan Steel Labour Union (PASLU) against the retrenchment of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) employees earlier this month.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on June 3 had approved the termination of 9,600 remaining PSM employees, contending that the mills have not been functional since 2015 and the employees have not been doing any work.
According to the PSM revival plan, some 9,350 employees will be fired within a month and another 250 will be let go within three months.
Subsequently, on June 15, a petition was filed with the SHC against the sacking of PSM employees which submitted that the sacked staffers were not responsible for the mills’ tragic fate.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the federal government submitted its response, saying that the decision to lay off the staff was taken in the light of an earlier Supreme Court order.
Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan maintained that, legally, the SHC could not take up the petition as the matter is pending with the Supreme Court. Endorsing Khan’s argument, the high court observed that it cannot hear the petition until the apex court announces its verdict on the matter.
