ISLAMABAD:
The federal government has drawn up a Rs27 billion bailout package for the Utility Stores Corporation (USC), with the proposal set to go before the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for approval on Tuesday (today).
The plan was disclosed during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation on Monday, where lawmakers voiced alarm over the shutting down of USC outlets and unpaid dues of thousands of employees.
According to a briefing by the secretary of industries and production, the financial package includes Rs15.18 billion for a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for workers, while Rs13.8 billion will go toward clearing outstanding payments to vendors. The corporation’s liabilities currently stand at around Rs54 billion.
The secretary further revealed that out of nearly 11,000 USC employees, only about 300 will remain in service until the completion of privatisation. Vendor dues will be released in two phases, with priority given to those facing financial hardship.
He admitted that USC has been operating at a loss since subsidies were withdrawn, while Rs46 billion in arrears remain outstanding, including liabilities owed to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue.
Committee Chairman Dr Farooq Sattar instructed officials to prepare a detailed two-page brief listing names and contacts of union representatives, along with specifics of employee payouts and vendor settlements. Lawmakers also demanded greater transparency regarding the package for workers.
Senator Sehar Kamran cautioned that employees’ rights must be protected as privatisation moves forward, warning against a repeat of USC’s ongoing closure, which has left thousands of workers in distress.
Established decades ago with more than 4,000 outlets nationwide, USC was designed to counter price manipulation by retailers and wholesalers and provide affordable essential commodities to citizens.
Meanwhile, the session also took up the worsening power crisis in the country. Lawmakers lambasted the government over prolonged load-shedding, with Dr Sattar pointing out that many areas are experiencing outages lasting up to 15 hours a day.
Officials from the Power Division claimed there was no load-shedding, only “commercial load management” in high-loss areas a claim strongly rejected by members. Senator Abdul Ghafoor Haidri said that in Balochistan alone, entire feeders have been shut down, leaving farmers and tube-well owners in the lurch.
Dr Sattar noted that Islamabad has already rolled out disconnect-reconnect and SCADA systems to target only defaulters, urging authorities to extend the same technology nationwide to provide relief to ordinary citizens.
