ECC approves firing all Pakistan Steel Mill employees

[Armchair]

leave business to business people. The government needs to get out of doing business - they are never good at it - if the world has learnt anything in the last 70 years it is this.

 

[Enigma SIG]

Too soon

A year later would've made it acceptable? Lets accept the fact that government (especially in Pakistan) run businesses are by and large a magnet for political appointments and exist only for vote bank politics. Employees know they won't be fired and can unionize to twist the governments arm for anything they need; at the expense of the nation. Privatize it and lo and behold, the business becomes profitable.

 

[Armchair]

As a former student and employee of the Late Dr. Zafar Altaf, I can say that there was a plan to set up an efficient steel industry in Pakistan. The idea was to set up a train track between two regions - one to produce local steel grade coal and the other iron ore (Pak has both).

The idea was to set up two steel mills imported from Germany - one in the region producing coal and the other in the region producing iron ore. So, train would take coal in one direction and iron ore in another.

Estimate was that this would create a globally competitive steel industry. However, this all got sidelined by ZA Bhutto when he instead imported a gigantic, inefficient and old tech steel mill from the Soviet Union and had it supplied with coal and iron ore imported from abroad.

Completely destroying at the bud the plan to industrialize Pakistan (steel is to industrialization what cotton is to garments).

 

[Indos]

leave business to business people. The government needs to get out of doing business - they are never good at it - if the world has learnt anything in the last 70 years it is this.

Nope. Chinese companies which are in Fortune 500 (biggest 500 companies world wide) in majority are state owned. If they are managed properly, they can be huge.

Indonesia case:

Indonesia’s state firms have always been a big source of dividends for the government, but under Mr. Widodo, those companies will be able to keep the money, as long as funds go into infrastructure. Revenues at state-owned companies are equivalent to almost a fifth of the country’s nearly $900 billion gross domestic product. (WSJ 2015)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/indonesia-makes-play-for-infrastructure-investment-1425592554

 

[nwmalik]

Excellent. Should have been done a long time ago. Most of the employees are political appointments. Wait for their ppp and plmn backed unions to challenge this in court, and sellout judiciary to spring into action to save democracy.

problem is they will start again when they come back to power.

 

[Syed1.]

problem is they will start again when they come back to power.

Not if PTI government manages to sell/lease it before their end of term.

 

[Indos]

leave business to business people. The government needs to get out of doing business - they are never good at it - if the world has learnt anything in the last 70 years it is this.

In a first, China has more companies on Fortune Global 500 list than the US

• The number of US companies on the list has declined to 121 from 126 last year
• The contribution of state-owned enterprises has risen to 80.2 per cent of Chinese companies on the list from 76.3 per cent last year

https://www.scmp.com/business/compa...has-more-companies-fortune-global-500-list-us

The percentage can be even bigger since around 129 Chinese companies in Fortune 500 list, 10 of them are Taiwanese.

 

[Muhammad Omar]

And PTI used to rant against PMLN on the privatisation of Steel mill

 

[Cornered Tiger]

Do you have a credible source on it as you mentioned about employee unions being taken care of already!

I will try to share the link here. In office at the moment.

First he opposed privatisation of the steel mills under PMLN, then tried to privatise them himself when PTI came to power.

He claimed that if PTI won, he would improve management and the steel mills will start to perform. Now he's laid off thousands of employees and steel mills remain closed.

Wah IK! At least you have been consistent with your u-turns.

This was in 2014. Steel Mill was shut down in 2015 and Pakistan was paying 4 billion per month in salaries only.

On the other hand, for the benefit of employees, golden hand shake of worth 23 lacs each being given to them equaling 2 to 3 year salary of a employee.

Most probably will be transferred to Chinese investor at dirt cheap price...

Russians as of now.

iron ore

Saudia Arabia is going to setup first Iron ore plant in Chaniot, Pakistan.

Nope. Chinese companies which are in Fortune 500 (biggest 500 companies world wide) in majority are state owned. If they are managed properly, they can be huge.

Indonesia case:

Indonesia’s state firms have always been a big source of dividends for the government, but under Mr. Widodo, those companies will be able to keep the money, as long as funds go into infrastructure. Revenues at state-owned companies are equivalent to almost a fifth of the country’s nearly $900 billion gross domestic product. (WSJ 2015)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/indonesia-makes-play-for-infrastructure-investment-1425592554

That is because the vast difference in Governance model. If your governance allow such tight controls over entities and individuals any sane and patriotic mind can achieve this.

 

[Armchair]

When the state is in such dire straits financially, it is quite stupid to give such giant "golden handshakes" to people who didn't do any work. Might as well hand PPP a check or the government.

How PTI always does stupid things. Naya Pakistan. Give the corrupt, incompetent who don't work "golden handshakes" worth billions.

And handing Saudi Arabia such a vital resource as iron ore is another stupidity. That country neither has Pakistan's long term interests in view nor has any competitive expertise in steal industry. Just another idiotic thing. Another let down. Another "naya Pakistan" BS.

A country that wishes to industrialize doesn't hand over its key strategic resources to foreign countries. And that too Saudi Arabia. Just mad idiots. Should be shot on sight.

 

[Syed1.]

A little bit of bad news for my Pakistanis and also a point of reflection. China produces half of worlds steel at about 980 million tons. India a distant second at about 110 mil. tons.... We are all the way at number 32 with just 5 mil. tons. A country of our size and potential should have atleast been in the top 10. Turkey, Brazil and Iran are 8,9 and 10. Iran produces 25 mil tons, 5 times more than what we produce. These numbers are taken from Wikipedia and are for the year 2018. So take with a bit of grain of salt, but I doubt they are far off from reality.


Sharam ka muqaam for 5th most populous country and a nuclear power. Buhat peechay reh gaye hain

 

[Bilal Khan (Quwa)]

A little bit of bad news for my Pakistanis and also a point of reflection. China produces half of worlds steel at about 980 million tons. India a distant second at about 110 mil. tons.... We are all the way at number 32 with just 5 mil. tons. A country of our size and potential should have atleast been in the top 10. Turkey, Brazil and Iran are 8,9 and 10. Iran produces 25 mil tons, 5 times more than what we produce. These numbers are taken from Wikipedia and are for the year 2018. So take with a bit of grain of salt, but I doubt they are far off from reality.


Sharam ka muqaam for 5th most populous country and a nuclear power. Buhat peechay reh gaye hain

The sad truth is that Pakistan has the innate capacity to be a top 10 manufacturer/exporter of auto-parts, pharma drugs, surgical tools, circuit boards, etc. It can also tap into its coal to manage domestic energy needs, and rather than rely on petrol, flip to EVs (using the coal-powered infrastructure) and balance the carbon.

But how can you get to that point when people are so stuck up the rear of party loyalty or just sheer stupidity that they won't talk real economics, real industry, real business, real defence, etc?

 

[Crusher]

................Privatize it and lo and behold, the business becomes profitable.

Naive thinking pushed forward by Neo-liberal crony capitalists. There is as much chance of failure for a private business as it is for a state run business. It is not the business, it is the man behind the business that matters.

State run businesses flourish under dictatorial regimes without any problems because those dictatorial regimes enforce order in those businesses. The democratic governments in third world countries which rely heavily on public votes and so-called electables do ruin state run businesses but that doesn't mean that state run business model is inherently flawed, it actually shows that democratic systems in third world countries with electoral politics are a poison for the state run businesses.

In a first, China has more companies on Fortune Global 500 list than the US

• The number of US companies on the list has declined to 121 from 126 last year
• The contribution of state-owned enterprises has risen to 80.2 per cent of Chinese companies on the list from 76.3 per cent last year

https://www.scmp.com/business/compa...has-more-companies-fortune-global-500-list-us

The percentage can be even bigger since around 129 Chinese companies in Fortune 500 list, 10 of them are Taiwanese.

Pakistan is filled with naive thinking people who think that "private businesses" automatically means everything is solved over night which is absolutely rubbish thinking pushed forward by Neo-liberal crony capitalists to take over the national resources as much as possible.

 

[Baghial]

The Economic Coordination Committee approved on Wednesday firing all employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills.

The Mills haven’t been functioning for years and the employees haven’t been doing anything, reasoned the committee. The meeting was chaired by Adviser to the PM on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.

There are 9,350 employees who will be fired within a month and another 250 will be let go within three months. The ECC approved a Rs18 billion package for the employees, which amounts to Rs2.3 million per person.

Though the Mills have been closed for years, they are running a Rs550 billion deficit and billions are being spent on debt servicing.

The government has made noise about wanting to restart the Mills but so far nothing has been done.

The move will not be finalised until it is approved by the federal cabinet.
https://www.samaa.tv/money/2020/06/ecc-approves-firing-all-pakistan-steel-mill-employees/

the govt is back only Gratuity & Provident Fund.
of the employee which was deducted from their pay .for yrs working there

nothing is comming out of govt pocket...


how will they sell the steel mill, while the land has public ownership?



ANOTHER CATCH ,,,,,,,,,, HAFEEZ SHEIKH, NOW FINANCE MINISTER.... ALREADY TRIED TO SELL THE MILL. WHEN HE WAS MINISTER OF INVESTMENT, WITH SHAUKAT AZIZ,



THE THIEFS COME BACK, YEAR AFTER YEAR , WORKING WITH ANY GOVT, TO PLUNDER PAKISTAN


WHILE IMRAN KHAN WAS SCOLDING HAFEEZ SHEIKH THEN............

NOW HE,S ADMIRING HIM........................ FCKKGNG HYPOCRITE.



AND MR MALIK RIAZ IS REALY INTRESTED IN MAKING BHARIA , ON THE 75 SUARE KM LAND OF PSM.

 

[Enigma SIG]

Naive thinking pushed forward by Neo-liberal crony capitalists. There is as much chance of failure for a private business as it is for a state run business. It is not the business, it is the man behind the business that matters.

Therefore the firings. BTW, the neo-liberal cronies have actually delivered on putting a man into space. How about that.