In an important movement, the Public Services Stores Corporation (USC) has initiated a large -scale restructuring, resulting in the completion of almost 3,000 employees in a single day.
According to reports, dismissal orders were issued on a vacation, and the first phase of restructuring focused on the dismissal of daily salary workers.
Reports indicate that most of the dismissed employees had been with the corporation for more than 10 years. In the next phase, thousands of workers hired in front of the termination are also expected.
This restructuring follows a recent decision of the Federal Government that on January 22, the federal cabinet formed a committee to review the possible closure of the USC operations.
Government sources revealed that the Committee will be led by the Federal Minister of Industries and Production, and will include key figures such as the Minister of State for Finance and Income, the Minister of State for you, as well as senior officials of the finance ministries, Industrias, Privatization and the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP).
In August 2024, the Federal Government made the decision to close the Public Services Stores Corporation (USC). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought proposals regarding the closure, and as part of this process, the government also suspended a 50 billion RS subsidy for USC.
In addition, at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, the decision was made to reduce administrative costs and rationalize state machinery, which leads to the closing of 28 departments in five ministries. These included the Ministry of Affairs of Cashmira and Gilgit-Baltistan, the Ministry of States and Regions Frontier, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Industries and Production, and the Ministry of National Health Services.
The Ministry of Industries and Production also included USC in the privatization list in August 2024. The Privatization Commission hired a financial advisor, with plans to privatize the corporation in stages.
On November 15, 2024, during a meeting of the Committee of the Permanent Senate Committee on Industries and Production, the federal minister Rana Tanveer Hussain revealed that 3,000 of the 11,000 employees of the USC had been hired during the mandate of the former Prime Minister of Punjab , Manzoor Watto, who recruited them from Tehsil. of Dera Ghazi Khan.
The minister Tanveer confirmed that, although the discussions had taken place on the closure of the USC, the Ministry of Industries and Production had opposed the measure. He also noted that many stores in Baluchistan and Gilgit-Baltistan were operating with losses, with 2,400 of 4,300 stores that report financial deficits.
