Financial scandal BBC Urdu Service: Trustees have lost the trust; they should resign. Almost 60 staff members of BBC Urdu Service in Pakistan have no clue of their provident fund for the last 5 years as the BBC management refuses to provide them any details despite repeated requests by some of the staff. BBC Pakistan constituted a trust in 20012 for the management of the Employees Provident Fund with six trustees, five trustees were appointed by the management and one trustee was appointed by the employees. The trustees appointed by BBC Pakistan are Aamer Ahmed Khan (Section Head),Haroon Rasheed ( Editor Pakistan), Stephen Tough ( Business manager Asia Pacific), Afshan Nayab Joseph ( Director BBC Pakistan, and Raza Hamadani ( BBC Urdu Producer). Interestingly, Raza Hamadani does not hold any managerial position yet he is one of the trustees. He is also authorized to sign cheques. Mr Hamadani’s only qualification is that he is crony of Aamer Ahmed Khan. According to Pakistani laws, information about the provident fund must be provided to the employees within 15 days of the constitution of a trust. Some of the employees repeatedly sought information about the status of provident fund but BBC management never responded BBC Urdu management also avoided to hold meeting of a trust despite repeated requests by a trustee appointed by the employees. Instead of holding meeting of a trust, BBC Urdu management sacked a trustee appointed by employees in June 2013. The fund was established in August 2009 when BBC Pakistan came into being. The employees have been raising questions over its status from time to time, but were never satisfactorily answered, including in a meeting in 2012 in which a senior HR official, Heba Yousuf, Trust sans employees’ representation, appointment of Section Head’s crony as one of the trustees, BBC Urdu management’s failure to hold meeting of a trust, denying information about the status of provident fund despite repeated requests by some of the staff and silence on the part of HR department have raised eye brows. There are questions over where is the provident fund? Where is it invested? What is its profit? What profit do they pay to employees? Do they get more profit and pay less to employees? In India, the BBC employees routinely get details of their provident fund every month on their salary slips. Why the rule is being ignored in Pakistan? Are the managers investing it in their own clandestine side-businesses? There are serious doubts, because those who raised the issue have been ridiculed or snubbed, or even terminated from service. This is one of the many scandals being suppressed by the BBC managers a swell as the HR Department in London. Why are they being cagey, secretive? What are their motives? It is the employees money, so why arent they told about its status and location? This is a serious matter. Since BBC HR London and some senior managers are suppressing the issue, it is imperative that the UK parliament step in and investigate the issue. There are serious concerns that the funds may be misappropriated or invested in personal businesses. After repeated snubbing, BBC Urdu Service employees now hesitate to raise the issue to avoid the wrath of senior management. They fear they may lose their jobs if they did. BBC Urdu Service is being run as a family enterprise; it has been violating all BBC policies with impunity. Ironically, the HR has been a partner in this, abetting and encouraging the BBC Urdu managers to violate BBC policies as well as Pakistani laws. BBC Urdu section head, BBC Editor Pakistan, BBC News Editor and finance department have been covering up the issue with the connivance of HR manager Heba Youssef
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 07:15:07 +0000
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