Increase in pension: Senate body adopts report on PTCL's retired employees' issue

The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Friday adopted the report of the sub-committee on the issue of increase in pension of retired employees of PTCL payable by the Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET).

The parliamentary panel met here with Rubina Khalid in the chair and reconsidered the report of its sub-committee adopted on September 2, 2019 on the issue of increase in pension of the retired employees of PTCL payable by the PTET.

Senator Rubina Khalid along with the members strongly recommended the justified demand of the retired employees and called for exploring all possibilities to fulfill the same. The report will now be laid in the Senate.

The committee members called for holding a discussion on the floor of the house and asked for directing the ministry to give a specified timeframe under which the grievances of retired employees will be addressed.

The committee observed that pensioners have entered into crucial phase of their lives and are facing hardships in making both ends meet. The committee expressed serious concerns over the non-compliance of its recommendations.

The chairperson of the committee said that rights of the pensioners would be protected. She said that committee would play its assertive role in this regard as retired employees are passing through testing times of their lives. She, however, deplored the attitude of the authorities for turning a deaf ear to the grievances of the poor employees.

She said the committee would present a detailed report in the House and continue to pursue the matter to provide legal and constitutional rights to the pensioners.

Senator Faisal Javed also endorsed the committee's observations. The meeting was attended among others by Senators Fida Muhammad, Rukhsana Zuberi, Faisal Javed Khan, and Abdur Rehman Malik, and joint secretary from the ministry.