KARACHI: The Sindh High Court Wednesday ordered the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) management to regularise all contract employees of the utility - around 5,000-6,000 in number - within one month.

A division bench of the SHC comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Shahid Anwar Bajwa passed the order on a petition filed by 23 office-bearers of the KESC Kasoti Labour Union.

Advocate Shoaun Nabi submitted that around 5,000-6,000 workers of the KESC were working on contract. Their service length ranged from five to 15 years, and the KESC management was paying them meagre salaries without benefits envisaged for regular employees.

According to service rules, any employee working on contract basis was entitled for regularisation after 90 days service. But, the KESC employees were deprived of this right despite serving the utility for years, the counsel argued.

The SHC on February 25, 2010 had also ordered the KESC management to negotiate the matter with its employees and submit a compliance report. But, so far no such report has been furnished.

KESC counsel Mehmood Ghani submitted that talks on the charter of demands were underway with the KESC ollective bargaining agent and a report would be furnished.

The SHC division bench observed that negotiations on the charter of demands had nothing to do with the regularisation of employees, who were working against permanent posts for years. The bench ordered the KESC management to regularise all contract workers within one month and submit a compliance report.

SHC seeks detailed report on detained Indian fishermen: The Sindh High Court directed the deputy attorney general and Sindh advocate general to submit a detailed report on all Indian fishermen detained in Karachi prison.

An SHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Zahid Hamid was hearing a petition seeking deportation of Indian juveniles detained in Karachi prison.

Petitioner Abdullah Khoso, office-bearer of the Society for Rights of Children, submitted that nine Indian boys were currently detained in the Karachi Youthful Offenders Industrial School charged under Foreigners’ Act and Exclusive Fishery Zone Act. He submitted that the boys had completed their sentences passed by the trial courts in September 2009 but were still incarcerated.

Golden handshake: The SHC annulled an earlier decision of a subordinate court, regarding the agriculture department’s 400 employees’ entitlement to benefits even though they had availed the golden handshake.

In a review petition filed by the provincial government, the SHC ruled that since the employees had availed the benefits of the golden handshake, they were not entitled to any further benefits like retirement gratuity and pensions. ppi/online