The ever-empty PSM

This refers to the news report, ‘Pakistan Steel needs Rs13bn to pay overdue salaries and utility bills’ (February 6). In the past, the country’s biggest steel manufacturing facility received a bailout package of Rs18.5 billion. One cannot understand why every government is ready to feed the ever-hungry white elephant without any improvements in its affairs? Once again the PSM management has asked the government to subsidise over 15,000 staff of the steel mills at the cost of 180 million Pakistanis. I am sure the top management must be getting all the perks.
On the other hand, the government is ignoring the rights of retired private sector employees who, along with their employers, have added money to the EOBI fund. Currently, people are getting Rs3,600 per month as benefit allowance on their retirement from the fund. The PML-N government had promised to raise the amount to Rs10,000 per month to keep up with the rising cost of living. But it hasn’t fulfilled its promise yet despite the fact that no taxpayers’ money is used to pay benefits to the retired people. The only lesson one can take from this is that the government is willing to subsidise inefficiency in the public sector organisations and penalise the private sector.
Syed Hussein El-Edroos
Islamabad