- Public service stores cease operations by July 2 (today).
- The VSS approved by PM is applied to the employees concerned.
- Zonal, regional managers to supervise the stop process.
Islamabad: The federal government is ready to close its public retail sector, The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) by July 10, The news reported Wednesday.
With a large number of employees likely to be affected by the move, the plan of the voluntary separation regime (VSS) approved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be applicable to all affected employees.
The decision was formalized at a high -level meeting held on June 30 at the USC headquarters in Islamabad, chaired by the Director General of the USC and attended senior officials, including the spouse of the Ministry of Industries and Production and several Directors General.
Development occurs almost a year after the Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Production SAIF Anjum in August 2024 confirmed that the federal government plans to close public service stores across the country.
The federal cabinet in January of this year had announced its decision to stop the operations of the retail chain managed by the State.
Meanwhile, according to the minutes of the June 30 meeting available with the publication, the essential staff will be temporarily kept to manage business after the closure. A complete VSS package will be developed for USC employees, and the recording of all fixed assets will be compiled before the full stop.
“All public service stores will cease operations by July 2, 2025,” said the minutes, adding that a final decision concerning the closure of operations on “ODDO” inventory software will be taken after July 1.
The USC has ordered all zonal and regional managers to supervise the stop process. The actions of the stores will be moved to warehouses and returned to sellers under surveillance. IT equipment, racks and accessories will also be recovered from all stores, including the USC headquarters and zone offices.
Notices will be issued to leave the premises in stores rented by August 1, 2025. A dedicated closing operations service will also be formed to supervise the entire process. Meanwhile, the Director General (TI) / Aarsol was responsible for developing a digital module to follow the fixed assets of the USC.