ISLAMABAD: Making the worse example of political victimisation, Pak Datacom Limited (Company) has terminated top office bearers of its employees’ union from services allegedly on the advice of State Minister for Information Technology (MoIT) Anusha Rahman Khan, it was learnt reliably.
Surprisingly, Pak Datacom Ltd has sent show cause notices to the top office bears of Pak Datacom Employees Union on December 15, 2017, and called them to appear before an inquiry committee on December 18, 2017, to prove innocence. However, Pak Datacom Ltd has terminated them from the services on that day over baseless allegations though these office bearers have already obtained a court order that no adverse action will be taken against them.
The allegations levelled against them include their involvement in activities causing damage and loss to the repute and goodwill of the Pak Datacom Ltd, which is a listed script at PSX (Pakistan Stock Exchange).
“You have raised frivolous issues and unsubstantiated allegation in respect of operations of the company contrary to the factual position thus causing potential harm to the company,” said a copy of show cause notice.
The show cause notice also said that “you have acted irresponsibly by issuing statements damaging to the reputation of the company in the capital market and you are bound to refrain from participation or extending assistance in any activity which may have a damaging effect on the company. Also, you are not allowed to give a statement or be the cause of any action which may result in bringing a bad name to the company.”
“And whereas you have executed a ‘Statement of Ethics and Business Practices’ whereby you have undertaken to comprehend and maintain discipline envisaged under PDL HR Manual,” read the notice.
Pak Datacom Employees Union has said that Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Anusha Rahman Khan is all out to benefit blue-eyed with the sale of Pak Datacom Ltd at a very low price. The employees union also raised that in a bid to benefit close aide of State Minister by privatising the company, the value of each share of Pak Datacom Ltd has decreased to Rs 40 only from Rs 150 per share value while work is under process to get the value of each share further reduced from the current level.
The union added, Yasir Qadir, who is a director of the Ministry of Information Technology is working as chairman Telecom Foundation of which Pak Datacom Ltd is a subsidiary has been working hard to privatise the company.
It is relevant to mention here that Yasir Qadir has been working as acting Managing Director of Telecom Foundation since February 2017. And, as per rules, a Managing Director of Telecom will be the chairman Board of Directors of the Pak Datacom Ltd.
Sources in Information Technology and Telecom sector believed that State Minister has assigned the task to Yasir Qadir to get the process of privatisation of Telecom Foundation done. And to make it done, they said he, Yasir Qadir, has initiated the process of privatizing the Telecom Foundation by giving advertisement to newspapers, seeking a qualified person who can evaluate the assets of Telecom Foundation including Pak Datacom Ltd. They also said office-bearers of Pak Datacom Employees Union are terminated only because they have been raising voice against the privatisation of the company and remained a political force in protecting the interests of company’s employees.
A spokesman of Ministry of Information Technology has said that IT Ministry has nothing to do with the termination of the employees of Pak Datacom Ltd as a board of the company is governing the company.
Pak Datacom Ltd Company which is a subsidiary of Telecom Foundation, which provides data services to sensitive organisations and also extends data service to the ATMs of different banks, making it an extremely important company. The government has 55 per cent shares in the company. However, incumbent state minister for IT is said all out to privatise Pak Datacom Ltd before the expiry of current government’s constitutional tenure.
It is worth mentioning here that employees and workers of Pak Datacom Ltd have staged protest demonstration on Tuesday and broke out on the roads against the termination of the office bearers and privatisation of the company. Protesting employees have demanded to stop privatisation of the company and reinstate the terminated staff of the company.
