The Sindh High Court will hear the petitions against the sacking of over 9,000 Pakistan Steel Mills employees on June 23. A notice has been issued to the attorney-general. A petition was filed by the Employees Union Steel Mills over the sacking on Wednesday. The court has decided to club all the petitions together. The petition said that mills should be made operational again, adding that sacking employees this way is illegal. The Pakistan Steel Mills, which is owned by the federation, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of iron and steel. It is spread over 18,642 acres, of which 10,000 acres is for the Mills while 8,000 is for Steel Town, a residential area, hospital and school. The Mills have been running in a loss since 2008 and were eventually shut down in 2015. It has caused losses of Rs229 billion to the national treasury. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the case of the Pakistan Steel Mills employees. A bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising justices Ijazul Ahsan and Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi will hear it. On June 3, the Economic Coordination Committee approved firing all employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills. A Rs20 billion package has been prepared for the employees and each of them will be given at least Rs2.3 million as a golden handshake.
