Senate Committee on Industries and Production Discusses Future of Utility Stores Corporation
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held under the chairmanship of Senator Aon Abbas. The meeting focused on a briefing about the future of Utility Stores Corporation (USC).
The Managing Director (MD) of Utility Stores Corporation stated that the privatization of USC had been delayed due to the lack of an audit. Once the audit is completed, the privatization process will proceed. He also mentioned that 5,000 permanent employees would be moved to a surplus pool, while 6,000 contract and daily-wage employees would be laid off.
The MD explained that the Utility Stores Corporation is on the government’s privatization list. Due to the two-year delay in the audit, the privatization process has been halted. The target is to complete the two-year audit by August 2025. The initial valuation of the USC’s property has already been made.
He further shared that USC is on the second privatization list of the government. At present, there are 5,000 regular employees at USC, and nearly 6,000 contract and daily-wage workers. Permanent employees will be moved to the surplus pool, while contract and daily-wage employees will not receive any packages. Once the organization is privatized, these employees will be let go.
The MD mentioned that there are currently over 3,200 stores across the country, with 1,700 non-profitable utility stores expected to be closed. After privatization, only 1,500 stores will require staff. Additionally, there are nearly 1,000 franchise stores. USC’s monthly expenses were previously 1.02 billion rupees.
After closing the non-profitable stores, the monthly expense has reduced to 520 million rupees, representing a reduction in monthly losses by 220 million rupees.
The committee members expressed their displeasure over the absence of Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar and the Secretary during the meeting. The committee had requested a briefing on the role and functions of the Sugar Advisory Board. The next meeting will call the Competition Commission for further discussion.
