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Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Utility Stores to shut down by July 31
Listen to article A high-level committee formed by the prime minister to oversee the closure and privatisation of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has reaffirmed that all operations of the corporation will be shut down by July 31 in accordance with government directives. The meeting, held in Islamabad on Wednesday, was chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The committee is tasked with ensuring a smooth and transparent closure process, along with formulating a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) for USC employees and recommending a structured timeline for privatisation. Read More: 6,000 Utility Stores workers to be laid off The committee reviewed the progress of its assigned tasks and held detailed discussions on the next steps. During the meeting, the members focused on developing a fair and financially viable VSS for USC employees, which would facilitate an orderly exit for workers and ease the transition. Members of the committee examined various aspects of the VSS, including its potential size, fiscal impact, and the legal and operational challenges associated with its implementation. They also evaluated the implications of the scheme's rollout and its potential effects on the workforce. In addition to the VSS, the committee recommended that the Privatisation Commission be consulted on the optimal structuring and feasibility of the privatisation process, or alternatively, the possibility of asset sales tied to USC operations. Also Read: Utility Stores employees announce nationwide protest over layoffs To facilitate a more thorough analysis, the chair has constituted a sub-committee, led by the Secretary of the Establishment Division. The sub-committee will delve into the legal and operational aspects, size, and structure of the proposed VSS and submit its findings to the main committee by the end of the week. The closure of USC, part of the government's broader privatisation plan, is set to reshape the retail landscape, though its impact on employees and consumers remains a point of ongoing concern.
Arab News
03-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Utility Stores employees vow resistance as government plans shutdown from July 10
ISLAMABAD: The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) employees' union on Thursday vowed to resist the government's decision to shut down retail operations by July 10, saying it would fight for the rights of over 11,000 workers by initiating protests, sit-ins and legal action. Established by the government in 1971, the corporation has a nationwide chain of retail outlets that provide essential commodities to the general public at prices lower than those in the open market. The corporation took over 20 retail outlets at the beginning but now operates 6,000 stores across the country. The government allocated Rs65 billion ($229.7 million) to subsidize the products sold by the retail chain in the last fiscal year. One of its spokespersons confirmed to Arab News the corporation's public retail stores will be closed by July 10, adding that all operations will shut down by the end of the month. 'We have received instructions from the Ministry of Industries and Production to close down all the stores by July 10, shift remaining goods to warehouses and completely shut down operations by July 31, 2025,' Sajid Marwat, USC Public Relations Officer, said. Meanwhile, Arif Shah, Secretary General of the All Pakistan Workers Alliance of Utility Stores, said the union will use all available avenues to protect the corporation and its employees. 'We will pursue both options, challenging the decision in court and staging on-ground protests including a sit-in at the [USC] headquarters,' he told Arab News. 'In total, around 17,000 people — including 11,500 direct employees of Utility Stores, 2,000 to 2,500 vendor staff and 3,000 franchise store workers from 1,000 to 1,200 outlets — will be affected by the closure,' Shah said, adding the authorities had already terminated around 4,100 employees. He maintained the institution has remained in existence for 55 years, and shutting it down was not the government's sole prerogative. 'If it is truly necessary to close this institution, the decision should be approved by parliament,' he said. Shah noted that during emergencies and disasters, the corporation stood at the forefront to provide relief items and ensure food security due to its big presence all over the country. He pointed out if the government was determined to shut it down, then at the very least, the employees should be given a fair and respectable voluntary separation scheme (VSS) package to help absorb the financial shock. Asked about the possibility of offering such a proposal, USC spokesperson Marwat said a human resource committee would convene on Friday to review the issue in consultation with union representatives and the management. 'The union is not accepting the current terms as they are demanding compensation packages for everyone, including daily wage laborers and contractual staff, as all categories of workers are being affected,' he informed, adding that the government was considering a financial deal for regular employees. Under the package for regular staff, the government is planning to offer two or three month of basic salary. 'But based on mutual consultations, the committee will prepare a comprehensive package for the outgoing employees,' he added. Raja Miskeen, a USC employee for over two decades, termed it completely wrong to shut down Utility Stores, saying it would put the livelihood of thousands of employees like him and their families at risk. 'We are waiting for the official written order, after which we will challenge this move in court,' he told Arab News. 'We are also in contact with our unions, urging them to develop a joint strategy that includes protests, sit-ins in the federal capital and legal action,' he added. Miskeen said the employees have dedicated many years to the corporation, adding that it had been functioning well. 'We are not against restructuring or improving its operations, but a complete shutdown is simply unacceptable,' he added. Ayesha Anwar, a regular customer at the USC in Islamabad's G-6 sector, said she had been shopping at Utility Stores for years, as their quality goods and subsidized rates had always helped stretch her household budget. 'Sugar at the store costs Rs164 per kilogram [$0.58], while in the open market it is around Rs200 [$0.71]. Similarly, price differences exist for other essential items as well,' she said, adding that closure of these stores would deeply affect the public, especially low-income families.
Business Recorder
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
11,614 USC employees removed following closure of 1,925 outlets
ISLAMABAD: The government has shut down 1,925 loss-making Utility Stores outlets countrywide being operated by the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) and 4,060 out of a total 11,614 employees were sacked. Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production held here under the chairmanship of Senator Aon Abbas to discuss matters pertaining to various attached departments of the Ministry of Industries, Managing Director Utility Stores Faisal Nisar Chaudhry said the closure of these outlets has resulted in saving of Rs1.7 billion. The MD USC said that if the management failed to privatise the USC annually Rs7 billion will be required to pay the salaries of the employees. The MD of the USC told the committee that for the time being, the privatisation process had been stopped because of a lack of its audit for two years. 'The privatisation will take place after the audit is complete,' the USC MD said, adding that 5,000 permanent employees would be sent to the surplus pool, while 2,554 employees still on contracts and on daily wage basis would be laid off. He added that the USC was on the government's privatisation list. 'The target is to complete the two-year audit in August 2025' after which the privatisation would be carried out, the MD stated. He also informed the committee that an initial estimate of the USC properties had been made. According to the USC MD, there were 3,742 Utility Stores across the country, out of which, the government has shut down 1,925 loss-making stores. After the privatisation, only 1,500 stores would require staff. He also said that the USC's monthly losses had been reduced to Rs220 million. The chairman committee inquired the present status of Rightsizing in Utility Stores Corporation (USC). The department briefed the committee that restructuring/rightsizing plan aimed at the eventual privatisation of the USC was formally approved by the USC Board of Directors during its 185th meeting held on 27th December 2024. The USC is being restructured under the restructuring plan according to which the loss-making stores of the corporation are going to be closed and surplus staff thereafter is being laid off. As part of the ongoing restructuring plan of USC, 1,925 stores have been closed and around 4,060 employees (1,823 contractual and 2,237 daily wages) have been laid off. It was also disclosed that the USC will not have sufficient funds to pay salaries to its 5,000 employees beyond next month, due to the closure of a significant number of its outlets. The USC officials informed the committee that the secretary had forwarded recommendations at the highest level, requesting that Rs7 billion funds be allocated for USC in the upcoming budget. The MD USC said that the stores were running on government subsidies and now the government has decided to even provide Ramadan relief package through Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to needy people. He said that USC's outstanding payment stand at Rs25 billion. The MD USC further stated that the management has decided to offer golden handshake scheme to 25 percent of the USC employees, otherwise, Rs2.7 billion annually will be spent on the salaries of these employees. The chairman committee recommended that details of the employees recruited in 2007 and 2013 should be submitted in the next meeting, from each province providing 10 office orders. This will enable the committee to assess the duration of their contractual appointments. Additionally, it was recommended that representatives from the Board of Directors (BOD), CBA Union, and PC should be invited to the next meeting. The meeting also discussed the role, functions and achievements of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). The officials, while briefing the panel on PIDC, said that at the time of its creation, Pakistan did not inherit any industrial base as East and West Pakistan combined had only 34 factories out of a total of 921 industrial units in the Subcontinent i.e. 3.6 per cent. They said that the 34 industrial units including, textile mills, cigarettes, rice husking, cotton ginning and flour milling, contributing only 7 percent of GDP and employing only 26,400 people out of an 80 million population at that time. The East Wing produced 70 percent of the world's jute, but there was not a single jute mill and West Bengal (India) was almost the sole buyer. In the West wing, only 16,000 of the total 15,00,000 cotton bales produced could be processed domestically. Further, they told that industrial units setup by PIDC between 1952-1984 were 94 and country's industrial growth during 1953-63 remained around 19.1 per cent which was almost solely due to PIDC. In 2005/06, a number of Section-42 (not-for-profit) Companies and Common Facility Centres were created as wholly-owned subsidiaries of PIDC for intervention in various sectors including gems and jewellery, marble/granite, handicrafts, sporting arms, dies and moulds, technology upgradation for skill imparting, setting up Common Facility Centres and introducing modern technology. The PIDC provided seed money for their establishment. However, the companies had their own independent management and boards, directly appointed by the government, relevant department stated. The committee was informed that the seed money provided is not recovered, rather it is treated as a grant or donation. The committee was apprised of the current status of PIDC projects. It was informed that Bin Qasim Industrial Park – SEZ (Karachi, Sindh), Korangi Creek Industrial Park – SEZ (Karachi), and Rachna Industrial Park – SEZ (Sheikhupura) have been developed. Naushahro Feroze Industrial Park – SEZ (Sindh) is currently under development. Block-A of Karachi Industrial Park – CPEC SEZ has received PC-1 approval (Rs7.4 billion), and the tendering process is underway. Additionally, Sargodha Industrial Park (Punjab) is also being developed. Following the briefing, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla expressed concerns regarding the Port Qasim area, stating that a significant land has no industrial unit established and land is so expensive that an investor would have to spend most of their funds just to acquire the land, leaving little to no resources for setting up the industry. He added that such conditions are unlikely to attract foreign investors, and even if they do come, the challenges are so overwhelming that they eventually withdraw. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
05-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Utility Stores to have no role in Ramazan package
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the government would unveil the Ramazan Relief Package this year sans the Utility Stores' role to prevent corruption and distribution of low-quality commodities to the people. "As the Holy Ramazan is about to start, I have asked the Ministry of National Food Security to bring about a Ramzan Package without the Utility Stores [Corporation (USC)] to prevent corruption and the sale of low-quality material. I had asked many months ago that this cannot go on with the Utility Stores," the prime minister said in his televised opening remarks at the meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by him. He told the cabinet members that last year, the government had received many complaints about the execution of the Ramazan Package by the Utility Stores. Therefore, the government has devised a solution to provide the facility minus the Utility Stores. The prime minister directed immediate measures to operationalise Gwadar Port on a commercial basis and instructed the formation of a committee under the chairmanship of Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal to work with all stakeholders to transform it into a modern and fully functional port. Iqbal gave a detailed briefing on Gwadar Port in the cabinet meeting. The prime minister also directed organising an international conference to create awareness about the significance of Gwadar Port. "A comprehensive marketing and awareness strategy should be devised and diplomatic efforts regarding Gwadar Port should be expedited." He also sought details of imports and exports carried out through Gwadar Port. The meeting was informed that Gwadar Port had the capacity to provide cost-effective and time-efficient access to the Persian Gulf for vessels of up to 50,000 Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) and to facilitate trans-shipment to Gulf countries. Furthermore, the port was expected to play a vital role in the development of the mining and aqua-culture sectors in Balochistan province. Western parts of China and the Central Asian States would also benefit from this port. The meeting was further informed that Gwadar Free Zone had been exempted from all federal, provincial, and local taxes and the rules for the Free Zone had been finalized. It was revealed that between 2018 and 2022, criminal negligence was shown regarding dredging at Gwadar Port which severely affected its depth. However, dredging was completed in 2022-23, after which its depth had been restored. All necessary utility services had now been provided at Gwadar Port, it was added. The meeting was also briefed about several public welfare projects in Gwadar including the Pak-China Friendship Hospital, Gwadar Institute of Technical Education, Pak-China Primary School, Gwadar Livelihood Project, Gwadar Fisheries Processing and Export Zone, and Gwadar Solar Park. The prime minister was apprised that government was also working to link Gwadar with Pakistan Railways' Main Line cuisine recipes The Gwadar-Quetta Highway was completed in 2018, benefiting areas such as Turbat, Hoshab, and Panjgur. Additionally, the remaining sections of the M-8 Motorway (Gwadar-Hoshab-Rato Dero) were under construction to connect Gwadar with Sukkur. To further enhance Gwadar-Quetta connectivity, the Nokundi-Mashkhel road was being constructed, while work on the Mashkhel-Panjgur road would commence soon, it was told. The work on Gwadar East Bay Expressway was carried out at rapid speed while work on Gwadar Safe City was being completed in collaboration with the Balochistan government. The minister proposed modernizing cargo inspection facilities at Gwadar Port and utilizing artificial intelligence for this purpose. The prime minister appreciated the briefing. About the launch of the polio vaccination drive, he mentioned the killing of a policeman Abdul Khaliq in Jamrud who was deployed on the security of the polio team and paid tribute to his sacrifice to make Pakistan a polio-free nation. He also lauded the services of PM's Coordinator on Health Dr Mukhtar, Polio Coordinator Dr Ayesha Farooq, secretary health and polio vaccinators for their tireless efforts to rid the country of this crippling disease. Apprising the cabinet members of his Quetta visit on Monday, the prime minister said he visited the hospital to inquire after the security personnel who were injured in an anti-terror operation in Kalat in which 18 security personnel were martyred and 23 terrorists were eliminated. "I met the injured. They were in high morale and were even ready to sacrifice their lives for the country. These are the martyrs and Ghazis who are resolved to rid the country of terrorism and striving day and night for the cause," he remarked. The prime minister said that the soldiers of the army, police, FC and Rangers sacrificing their lives were actually bearing the brunt of the blunderous policies of a government in the past when thousands of terrorists were set free. The cabinet members also offered Fateha for the martyred security personnel as well as the policeman on the polio duty. The prime minister expressed pleasure over the inflation coming down to a nine-year low at 2.4% from 28.73% on a month-to-month basis. He congratulated the entire nation, the cabinet members particularly the finance minister, his team, FBR and others for their efforts during the last 11 months to bring the inflation down to the lowest level. "Now, we are fully striving to head toward economic growth This is the main challenge. All of our energies will be focused on economic growth. Just like other targets, we will achieve this too," he resolved. He told the cabinet members that on Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a delegation to Pakistan and both sides signed an agreement under which the Kingdom would provide oil worth annual $1.2 billion on deferred payment. Besides, the Saudi Development Fund will also provide a loan for a $40 million water supply scheme project in Mansehra. He said that the entire nation would observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren. Prime Minister Shehbaz also lauded the approval of agricultural income tax by all four provinces as per the IMF condition and thanked the chief ministers, President Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Mian Nawaz Sharif for their support in this regard.
Express Tribune
31-01-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Govt assures no sugar price hike during Ramadan
Listen to article Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain has said sugar prices will not be allowed to increase during Ramadan, according to Radio Pakistan . Chairing a meeting to review sugar prices in Islamabad on Friday, he said providing relief to consumers during Ramadan is responsibility of the government. Hussain said sugar millers have been given a one-week time for consultation on sugar prices and final rates of the commodity will be announced on Thursday. The minister said farmers should be included in the profit and sugar millers should play their role in addressing production and financial issues of agriculturists. Earlier this week, the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) raised the price of sugar by Rs5 per kilogram. According to sources, the price of sugar at Utility Stores has been increased from Rs140 to Rs145 per kilogram. The decision to increase the price was made due to rising prices in the open market. However, despite this increase, sugar at Utility Stores remains cheaper than in the open market.
