The recommendations passed by a sub-committee of Cabinet for regularisation of contract/daily wage employees was Thursday declared null and void by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). A single-member bench of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui resumed the hearing of identical petitions filed by the federal government employees working in health department, National Highway Authority (NHA) and others. They took the plea that their seniority was being affected due to regularisation of contract/daily wages employees.
During the course of proceedings, Justice Siddiqui said the recommendations of the committee had no legal status as the contract/daily wage employees were not being hired through laid down rules and procedures. Tariq Mehmood Jehangri, the counsel for the NHA employees, apprised the court that on March 17, 2014, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the appointment of 238 employees, who were regularised by the EOBI, illegal. The bench accepted the application for hearing. It is pertinent to mention that the Cabinet Sub-committee headed by Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah passed its recommendations during the tenure of Pakistan People Party (PPP).