SHC grants pension rights to daily wage employees

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has given a major verdict on the tenure dispute of retired employees, declaring daily wages employees also entitled to pension.

The Sindh High Court, while giving a historic verdict on the tenure dispute of retired employees of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has ordered that daily wages and service done on temporary basis should also be counted for pension.

The court has declared the previous office orders issued by the CAA in this regard null and void.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon heard the petitions, the lawyer took the position that the employees started working on daily wages between 1998 and 2001 and were made permanent in 2009.

However, their previous temporary service at the time of retirement was not counted for pension, while higher courts have made it clear that it is necessary to include previous service after becoming permanent.

The authority’s counsel argued that the petitioners were initially third-party contract employees and had accepted the condition of not including previous service while becoming permanent, hence they are not entitled to pension.

The Sindh High Court, while rejecting the arguments of the CAA, remarked that pension after retirement is the right of the employees and this right cannot be abolished by any administrative condition. If temporary service is converted into permanent employment without any break, then that period will count for pension. It is illegal to ignore the petitioners’ previous service.

The court ordered that the pension liabilities be recalculated as per the petitioners’ complete service (including temporary period) and payment of all arrears should be ensured within 2 months.