Firemen of Fire Brigade department awaits promotion for last 30 years

The Fire Brigade department of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has turned out to be one, where only blue-eyed employees get promotions, while the senior most and entitled are waiting for years to be elevated.
Sources said that many time promotions were announced during the last thirty years, but eight employees of the department, who were recruited in 1979 as firemen in Grade-5 were still waiting promotion.
These employees are: Haq Nawaz, Muhammad Shakoor, Manzoor Hussain, Muhammad Wajid, Muhammad Hassan, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Rafiq Bajwa and Muhammad Naeem. Of them Muhammad Rafiq Bajwa and Muhammad Naeem have died. "We have not been promoted for the last 32 years. A departmental promotion committee neglected us when rest of the employees were promoted to next grades in 2004," one of the fireman said.
He said that promotions of all of them were due in 2004, as Leading Fireman in Grade-10, but the department had not considered them. Sources said that political influence in department was a major factor, which caused them to suffer for years, adding that some concerned officials have also adopted discriminatory attitude in entertaining them.
President Sajjan Union Zulfiqar Shah told Business Recorder said that such act of the department compelled the employees to approach labour court in order to get their legal rights. He said the court had ruled in favour of fireman on 13 August 2009. However, the decision has not yet been implemented, he deplored.
"The court directed the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) to give promotion to them but they are still waiting for promotion," he added. He said that the promotion-awaiting employees had submitted application to Administrator KMC Mohammad Hussain Syed, who had forwarded the case to DPC, but the committee was still overlooking the matter and using delaying tactics.
Sources said that the case was pending with Chief Fire Officer (CFO), who is the ultimate authority to promote these employees. When contacted, CFO Ehtishamuddin said that right now there was no vacancy of the grade they were entitled to be promoted. "These employees would be promoted as and when vacancies are fallen vacant," he added.
Sources said that there were two Leading Fireman posts vacant some two months ago, but instead of promoting the awaiting firemen, new employees were hired against the vacancies. They said that two more posts of the same designation would fall vacant in 2012.