Yemeni govt reinstates over 52,000 dismissed employees

Aden, May 16 (IANS) The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) announced that it will reinstate over 52,000 civil, security and military employees who were dismissed from their jobs nearly 30 years ago in the country's southern provinces.

The state-run Saba news agency reported that Rashad Al-Alimi, chief of the PLC, signed decisions approving the reinstatement, promotions, settlements, and wage increases for the 52,766 employees who were forcibly dismissed from their jobs after the 1994 civil war.

"The decisions involve the approval of procedures for a previously formed committee dedicated to dealing with the grievances of the employees who were forcibly dismissed from their positions in southern Yemen," Xinhua news agency quoted the Saba report as saying.

It clarified that "the committee included procedures for reinstating and compensating personnel who had been dismissed from their jobs in the armed forces, interior forces, and political security (intelligence) services".

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a retired military official told Xinhua that "it is a positive sign that our grievances are being acknowledged, and it reaffirms the PLC's commitment to healing the wounds of the past injustices and building an equitable society".

In 1994, a civil war erupted in the Arab nation, four years after the unification of North and South Yemen to form the Republic of Yemen.

One of the consequences of the war was the mass dismissal of thousands of employees in the southern part of Yemen, who had previously held positions within various sectors, including government, security, and the military.