PSM employees take to streets against unpaid salaries

KARACHI: The employees of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) on Saturday blocked the National Highway for all kinds of vehicular movement for several hours in protest over non-payment of their salaries, ARY News reported.

Hundreds of vehicles stranded in the gridlock caused by the protest.

However, the highway was later opened for traffic after talks between protesters and police went successful.

For months, the workers of the state-owned corporation have been staging demonstrations over non-payment of their salaries and other managerial issues.

Earlier in December, the government had announced that it would issue two-month salary to the PSM employees.

Moreover, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is determined to launch a probe into the reasons which led to the collapse of the PSM, the country’s largest steel manufacturing facility.

The top anti-graft body is considering to dispatch a recommendation letter to the Ministry of Interior to place the names of all former and incumbent officers of the PSM on the Exit Control List (ECL) in a bid no responsible person could flee the country during an investigation.

According to a press release issued by the NAB in December last year, the investigation has been assigned to identify the officials responsible for the deteriorating state of affairs at PSM, besides the factors leading to this situation.