KWSB lays off 188 ghost employees

Karachi
The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) on Wednesday claimed to have sacked 188 of its employees for perpetual absence from duties.
The employees, belonging to grades 1 to 17, were laid off in line with Sindh Local Govt Minister’s orders to rid the water utility off its ghost employees, a statement issued by the KWSB maintained.
Absence from duty without prior approval of leave was liable to be penalised under section 3(1) (a) and (b) of the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Sindh Ordinance, 2000, the statement further read. The human resources development and administration department, which circulated the notification, had also claimed of issuing show-cause notices to the employees, earlier, the notification maintained.
A final notice in this regard was published in newspapers on July 26, 2015 in which all concerned employees were given a period of seven days to report for duty or submit a detailed justification for the absence.
However, the employees were issued termination letters after they did not respond to the notice. The laid off staffers and officers of KWSB included 10 assistant executive engineers, eight sub-engineers, 10 assistant engineers, four computer operators, two foremen, four supervisors, 11 junior clerks, one lab attendant, four security guards, four valve men, four fitters, one driver, one mechanic, 18 diggers, eight watchmen, 11 Naib Qasid, 21 helpers, one data assistant, one gardener, 21 helpers, two supervisors, two sub-inspectors, one machine operator, 39 health workers, 11 coolies, five sweepers, five line guards, three electricians, three cleaners, and two sub-inspectors.