Fired MoMP workers protest, demand reemployment

KABUL (Pajhwok): Dozens of sacked workers of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum protested in front of the ministry on Monday, demanding reemployment for the next solar year.

Sakhi Ahmad, one of the protesting sacked workers, said, “Officials of the ministry have created illegal organizational structure behind closed doors without consulting managers and other relevant figures, they removed 1,209 of total 2,666 workers from their jobs.”

He said there were 666 vacant posts in the ministry but instead of filling the vacancies, the ministry removed 1,209 workers.

Ahmad said that five to eight scale posts held by 1,454 persons or 90 percent had been removed in the new organizational structure for 1,400 solar year as well as job descriptions for third and fourth grade posts had been changed.

Qais Esmati, another worker, said that all those gathered in the protest were professional people and they were removed without their managers being consulted.

He said all of the workers who had been fired had built their capacity inside and outside the country and had experiences up to 10 years.

“We want the organizational structure of 1399 solar year, if the ministry does not listen to us, we will refer to the parliament and the president,” he said.

However, Abdul Qadir Mutfa, spokesman of MoMP said that 205 unqualified individuals were working on technical posts of the ministry and the ministry planned to shift them to their relevant parts for their efficiency.

He said that 512 other active workers of the ministry would be transferred to Afghanistan Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority considering their working area.

Mutfa said that 78 other workers would retire on completion of their terms.

mds/ma

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