Austerity measures Half of NA staff to work from home

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) Secretariat has introduced austerity measures on the direction of Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, including a 50 per cent work-from-home arrangement for employees and a 50 per cent reduction in fuel allocation for official vehicles

According to a notification issued by the NA Secretariat, 50 per cent staff shall perform duties through physical presence at their respective workplaces; and 50 per cent staff shall work virtually from their homes through a rotational duty roster, to be prepared by their respective wings with the approval of competent authority. All employees shall ensure their availability at home through telephone, email, WhatsApp and other communication tools.

Home-based employees shall report to the office at one hour’s notice if required by their reporting officers. Home-based 50 per cent employees shall not be entitled to diet allowance/overtime charges. No employee shall leave the station except with the prior permission of the competent authority

Other measures include reduction of fuel provision by 50 per cent for official vehicles for three months; complete ban on purchase of vehicles of all types; 5 per cent reduction in the non-employee-related expenditure (ERE) budget for the whole FY-2026-2027, with reduction to be made on monthly basis

Besides, meetings will be held preferably through teleconferencing, except intra-city meetings; meetings of standing committees will be encouraged to be held through virtual mode enabling the members to cut fuel and other related costs; the number of meetings shall be reduced up to the bare minimum level due to austerity measures until the situation normalises

There would be complete ban on purchase of all durables except IT procurements. Similarly, there would be complete ban on foreign visits and travel for three months, even in the case of obligatory visits, except in the case of scholarships offered by international development partners, training and courses arranged through the Economic Affairs Division or under institutional agreements of the government.

No official dinners shall be hosted, except in the case of visiting foreign delegations. There will be prohibition on all official seminars, trainings and conferences funded by the government and in case of unavoidable requirements such events would be held at government venues such as auditorium, committee rooms and other official facilities. Besides, paperless working environment shall be adopted to reduce costs on conventional working.

Source: www.thenews.pk