Republish of Article -99 of dated 18th August 2019 in english through ChatGPT-4

 Article -99 of dated 18th August 2019 in english through ChatGPT-4

Registration in EOBI for Former PTCL Employees: Legal Obligations and Benefits

Clarification: Since the establishment of PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited) on January 1, 1996, it was a legal and mandatory obligation for PTCL to register all former employees of PTC (Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation), regardless of their category, in the EOBI (Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution) from the same date, and to ensure that PTCL itself was also registered.

Dear PTCL Colleagues,

Assalamu Alaikum,

In my previous Article-97, I addressed the fact that all former employees of PTC, who were transferred to PTCL upon its establishment on January 1, 1996, and became its employees, were not registered in the EOBI according to the law, neither by the company nor were they registered on their own. Instead of registering them, the company got involved in litigation, and when the Islamabad High Court rejected its appeal in May 2012, the company only registered those employees who were present on July 1, 2012, in the EOBI from January 1, 1996.Those employees who had left PTCL by June 30, 2012, either through retirement or for other reasons, were not registered in the EOBI from January 1, 1996,  by PTCL according to the EOB Act 1976, despite being in active service during such period. PTCL, by not registering them in the EOBI, acted illegally. As a result, thousands of PTCL employees , who worked in PTCL were deprived of EOBI benefits due to PTCL's incompetence, and thousands of male employees who retired by June 30, 2012, deprived of EOBI's monthly pension on the retirement age [ Remember male employees registered in EOBI are entitled to this pension upon reaching 60 years of age, and female employees upon reaching 55 years of age, provided their employment duration or tenures are not less than 15 years.]

Now, this EOBI pension is being disbursed to those retired PTCL employees who were still in service on July 1, 2012, and have since retired. Many of my junior colleagues, who were in service on July 1 and later retired in 2013, 2014, or 2015, are receiving this EOBI pension in addition to the government pension [The government pension given to former T&T employees who worked in PTCL upon retirement is provided due to the protection given under the PTC Act 1991 and PT (Reorganization) Act 1996.]. People have been asking me how PTCL employees who are transferred employees, receiving the government pension, and having civil servant status can legally receive this second EOBI pension. I was quite surprised by their lack of knowledge, as they were under the impression that transferred employees in PTCL had civil servant status and could not receive a second pension. I request these people to carefully read the detailed decision of the five-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by former Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, issued on March 16, 2016 (2016 SCMR 1362), to get answers to all these questions.

According to clauses 5 (bb) and 8 (j) of the EOB Act 1976, the definitions of "employee" and "insurable employment," respectively, make it mandatory for private-sector employees, including those working on contracts, ad-hoc, or daily wages, to be registered in EOBI. Further amendments were made to the EOB Act 1976 on July 19, 1980, and these regulations were named the "Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Regulations 1980 (GENERAL)." These regulations also outline the method for contributions for such registered employees working on daily wages or contracts.

In Article-97, I mentioned that the Adjudicating Authority of EOBI, under the camp of the Chakwal region, Judge Zulfiqar Ali (Adjudicating Authority-III), on February 21, 2018, directed EOBI to recover the data of 86 PTCL VSS non-pensioners from PTCL and collect the contribution amount from PTCL to issue them EOBI registration cards, so that former aggrieved employees could also benefit from EOBI benefits. I advised all former PTCL employees who were part of PTCL on January 1, 1996, to visit their respective district EOBI offices, inquire about the implementation of this court order dated February 21, 2018, and make efforts to register themselves in EOBI according to this court order.

Initially, my advice was only for those former PTCL employees who were regular and on payroll. Now, my advice extends to all former PTCL employees who were working on daily wages, contract, or ad-hoc basis on January 1, 1996, and were later hired for daily wages, contract, or ad-hoc work, to also try to register themselves in EOBI, so they too can benefit from EOBI benefits. Although the EOB Act 1976 states that if an employer is registered in EOBI but fails to register the employees on time or forgets, they can be registered later from the date of establishment and employment. If the employer doesn't register any employee(s) in EOBI, those employees can visit the nearest EOBI office of the employer and register themselves in EOBI, provided the institution is already registered under the EOBI law. They will then have to pay the monthly contribution themselves.

EOBI has a specific application form PE-02 for such registrations. The details in this form indicate that it can only be submitted by employees working in a private institution registered with EOBI, and not by someone who has already  left  that institution. If an employee has worked in other private institutions before their current employment, they must mention the periods and wages for each in the provided columns. This is necessary because to receive an EOBI pension, the total service duration of a registered employee must not be less than 15 years, even if they stop working after that and stay at home. For a male employee, as soon as they reach 60 years of age according to their date of birth on the national identity card, they become eligible for EOBI pension, and for female employees, at the age of 55.

In my article, I had previously written about the Adjudicating Authority of EOBI and how Judge Zulfiqar Ali of Camp Chakwal Region’s Adjudicating 

Authority-III had directed EOBI in February 21, 2018, to recover the data of 86 PTCL employees appealing against EOBI from PTCL and issue them EOBI registration cards so that these affected employees could benefit from EOBI. I advised all former PTCL employees who were part of PTCL on January 1, 1996, to visit their district's EOBI office and inquire about the actions taken on February 21, 2018, by the court, and then make efforts to register with EOBI themselves according to the court order.

The essence of my  this article is that all PTCL employees should not rely on PTCL to register them with EOBI to receive EOBI pension and other benefits. They should try to secure employment in any private institution registered with EOBI. The service they performed in PTCL in any capacity will be beneficial for obtaining the EOBI pension. For people like us who have already retired at the age of 60, is not possible  to register themselves with EOBI; only PTCL can register people like us with EOBI, as stated in Section 13 of the EOB Act 1976, based on which the court issued orders to EOBI on the appeals of the 86 VSS non-pensioners, which I have already mentioned in my Article 97.

Regards

Muhammad Tariq Azhar

Retired General Manager (OPS), PTCL

Rawalpindi

Dated August 18, 2019

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