During the meeting, the committee observed various issues being faced by authority's employees.
As, in January last, PSQCA had terminated around 35 contractual employees from BPS-1 to 18 (mainly technical) working at the main PSQCA Complex in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. They said a number of PSQCA senior officials are also facing both internal and external enquires.
However, In order to resolve their grievances, a 3 member sub-committee comprising of senator Dr Sikandar Mendhro, senator Hilal-ur-Rehman and senator Nuzhat Sadiq have been formed. The committee has taken up the issue and will share progress report in its next meeting.
The panel's chairman senator Mushtaq Ahmed underscored the need of uplifting consumer related policies with the focus on import and export quality standards to help bring the consumers' confidence.
He said that Upper House had undertaken several initiatives such as proposing amendments in PSQCA Act to ensure improve quality control activities.
He said the proposed amendments include re-constitution of Board of Directors, reconstitution of Advisory Council and Executive Committee, Enhancement of penalties to non-conforming manufacturing or sale and curtailing of discretionary and arbitrary powers of the PSQCA field staff or officers etc..
Mushtaq said consultation with the provincial government is under way through CCI for enhancing cooperative outreach of the authority, adding steps were being taken to improve the monitoring mechanism through enhanced market surveillance, surprise visits besides regular quarterly inspection of industrial units. He said the mandatory products list of PSQCA had been increased from 105 products.
DG PSQCA Abdul Aleem Memon briefed the committee that PSQCA has a formal procedure of standard development and up till now it has developed/adopted 22,647 standards as Pakistan standards. "Presently, we have 105 items in the list of mandatory items." he said.