RAWALPINDI – It seems the law of jungle is prevailing at Pakistan Tourism Development Cooperation (PTDC) as the senior and mighty officials, enjoying all the perks and privileges and job security despite doing nothing but the poor employees who play a pivotal role in uplift of PTDC, are shown the door reportedly on refusal from dancing on the tunes of their idle bosses.

On Thursday, a situation of uncertainty gripped PTDC when its management barred the entry of its as many as eight employees to their offices for performing daily works dropping bombshells on them that their services have been terminated, well-placed sources confided to TheNation.
The sources said that the management on the nod of Managing Director (MD) PTDC Mir Shahjahan Khetran sacked all these 8 employees without giving any solid reason and leveling charges.
The other employees, after hearing the news of sacking of their 8 colleagues, also held a protest demonstration to express solidarity with them.
Instead of sitting calmly, the 8 employees, whose services have been terminated by MD PTDC Mir Shahjahan for the reason best known to him or his blue-eyed management officials, in collaboration with PTDC Workers Union knocked at the door Labour Court, which later issued stay order to the management of the corporation.
According to the source, when the affectees went to PTDC for resuming their official work, they were stopped from entering the premises by the security guards deputed there. Upon asking, the eight employees were informed that the MD PTDC had fired them from service.
On this, the other employees stopped their official and held a demonstration at the main gate against the PTDC management. They bellowed slogans against MD PTDC Mir Shahjahan Khetran and his blue-eyed Media Manager Rao Mukhtar Ahmed and other officials of management. They demanded immediate reinstatement of their colleagues.
PTDC big wheels including Finance Manage Saeed Abbas Ansari later negotiated with the protestors and escorted them to the office premises.
The employees of PTDC meanwhile appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani to intervene and to rescue them.
Talking to The Nation, the fired employees Waqar Ahmed, Ramzan and Aalam Zeb Khan claimed that MD had issued termination orders to as many as 8 employees without giving any reasons in the letter.
According to them, the employees were fired only because they had raised voice against non-release of their six-month salaries to them as well as other staff members including contractual and regular employees.
After receivng termination orders, the employees approached the Labour Court, which had stayed the termination orders. “Despite the court orders, we were not allowed to rejoin our duties and stopped at the main gate by the security personnel on the orders of MD PTDC,” they alleged.
The management instead of resolving the issue of clearance of dues standing against our 6 months salaries adopted pressure tactics to gag them. All the terminated employees include union members. This step by the managing director is highhandedness and unjust, they claimed.
PTDC Finance Manager Abbas Ansari kept his mum when contacted by this scribe for his comments on the issue whereas PTDC Media Manager Rao Mukhtar Ahmed tried to hush up the matter of grave concern saying, “negotiations between the two parties including Managing Director and employees would take place after which we would be able to get the outcome.” However, he said that the case of termination of employees and the stay order of the court is not in his notice.
Mir Shahjahan Khetran, the PTDC MD, did not pick up his cell phone to offer his point of view even after many calls were made by this scribe.