In a follow-up to its earlier decision to reduce staff in offices by 50%, the Punjab government has sent a notice to senior officials for implementing the orders.
In a bid to control smog and traffic on the roads, the government had announced measures to reduce staff attendance in government and private offices. It sent the notification to secretaries, commissioners, deputy commissioners, and senior officials across the province, emphasizing a 50% reduction in office staff.
Under this directive, half of the government staff will work online, and employees will only be required to attend the office in cases of extreme necessity.
The Punjab government has urged all senior officials to prioritize the implementation of these measures as part of a strategy to combat smog and protect public health.
On Nov 12, the Punjab government ordered to shift 50% of employees in its offices to online work in response to the rising smog levels in the province. The directive, issued by Punjab Director General of Environment Dr Imran Hamid, applied to all government, semi-government and autonomous institutions across the province.
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Under the guidelines, only half of the government staff will work on-site, while the remaining employees were required to work from home. Additionally, all inter-departmental meetings must be held online, and employees commuting to work must carpool to help reduce vehicle emissions contributing to smog.
While these guidelines apply to government employees across the province, a separate notification announced measures for staff of private offices in four divisions of Punjab. It said 50% staff of all private offices, franchises and NGOs in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Multan would have to work from home.
It said the decision applied to private offices from Nov 13 to Dec 31 and was taken in view of the increase in diseases due to smog.
