Nurses under probe for seeking Eid bonus
Following the decision to grant an additional basic salary to Capital Development Authority employees from Grade 1 to 16 on the occasion of Eidul Azha, the CDA Chairman has also approved a similar honorarium of one basic salary for all Muslim officers in Grade 17 and above.
The decision will apply to contract and daily-wage employees as well, and an official notification has been issued in this regard. Furthermore, CDA Board members, who are on deputation appointments, will also be beneficiary of additional basic salary.
Sources reveal that the additional salary payments for all CDA employees and officers on Eidul Azha will cost the authority approximately Rs365.5 million, with Rs235m allocated for employees in Grade 1-16 and Rs30m for officers in Grade 17 and above.
It is reported that CDA has become especially lucrative for officers deputed from various departments, particularly board members. More notably, officers deputed to CDA are also allotted plots in Islamabad's D-Block sector after six months of service, despite CDA employees only being eligible for a plot after completing at least 10 years of service.
Sources highlight that different eligibility standards exist for permanent CDA employees and those on deputation. This disparity makes CDA postings highly desirable among senior officers from other departments.
A senior officer of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) shared an interesting office order, revealing that more than six nurses from Capital Hospital, serving in BS-17 to 19, visited the office of the Member Finance at CDA Headquarters two days ago. The nurses requested that, like employees from BS-1 to 15, they also be granted an additional basic salary as an Eid honorarium.
However, instead of their request being considered, the nurses were accused of violating departmental discipline, and a formal departmental inquiry was ordered against them. This action was taken despite the fact that, prior to the issuance of the inquiry order, the CDA had already officially approved the honorarium for all officers in Grade 17 and above.
Given this approval, even if the disciplinary action had any basis initially, the acceptance of the nurses' request rendered the inquiry unjustifiable and moot.
The CDA Chairman could not be reached for his version despite repeated attempts.
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