Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, :The Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment at the Workplace (FOSPAH) has upheld the removal of three senior officials of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (PASSCO) following an extensive investigation into severe workplace harassment, said in a Press Release issued here on Friday.
The inquiry found that female employees at PASSCO were placed under constant video surveillance by senior management, who misused CCTV cameras to track their movements. The accused also spread malicious rumours, including false claims that female employees were engaged in inappropriate relationships. Additionally, they engaged in targeted victimization, which included denying leave requests, charge-sheeting female staff without justification, barring them from using the company parking lot, and subjecting them to daily humiliation.
Despite the accused being high-ranking and influential figures within PASSCO, FOSPAH upheld the Inquiry Committee’s findings and the Competent Authority’s decision to remove the accused from service, dismissing the appeal filed by the accused. The ruling emphasized that the acts of surveillance, defamation, and targeted workplace hostility constituted serious violations under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.
This landmark decision sends a strong message that no individual, regardless of their influence, is above the law when it comes to protecting employees from workplace harassment.
