KARACHI: A petition has been filed against the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in the Sindh High Court (SHC) today.
The petitioner Asim Bhatti, president PSM Labour Union has made the federal government and ministry of Production respondent in his plea. The petitioner stated that due to the faulty policies of the past government, Steel Mills went into deficit.
“Employees are not responsible for the loss. The incumbent government has also done nothing for the revival of the PSM and now it has decided to lay off its employees by privatizing it,” the petition read.
He also has urged the SHC to pass judgment to refrain the federal government from privatizing the PSM and sacking its employees for their jobs. The move came after the government earlier this month approved the retrenchment of more than 9,350 employees of the PSM.
Moreover, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar informed the house that the losses of state-owned enterprises had surpassed the annual defense budget due to the regressive policies of previous governments.
He said the previous governments failed to revive or privatize Pakistan Steel Mills and the debt stay remain at Rs230 billion. He clarified that only the core operations of the steel mills will be privatized.
ADVERTISEMENT
