LAHORE
The office-bearers of Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) organised a consultation with MPAs on Wednesday and shared their concerns regarding devolution of the Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) to provinces. They urged the MPAs to present a resolution in the assembly on the pattern of KP assembly to block transfer of EOBI from the federal government to Punjab government.
The workers were of the opinion that the institution shall remain under the control of the federal government as provinces will be unable to facilitate workers due to the migratory nature of workforce in the private sector. Their point was that workers who moved from one province to the other would not be able to get benefits from where they had worked earlier. But if the existing arrangement remains in place, there will be no problem for the EOBI under the federal government to extend benefits to workers registered under the institution regardless of where they have worked, they added.
The MPAs including Nasreen Nawaz, Shamim Akhtar, Saadia Suhail and Nousheen Hamid Singh agreed to offer their support and take up the matter. They said they would hold consultations on this issue and take other members of the assembly on board.
The MPA took keen interest in the issue and sough explanation from the office-bearers of PWF on the negative implications of handing over EOBI to provinces. Ejaz Ch, president, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was also present on the occasion. He said PTI was a pro-worker party and had put the welfare of worker class on top of its agenda. He assured the workers that PTI, Punjab, would make best efforts to stop any move that harmed workers in any way. He said the members of the KP assembly have already assured the PWF that they will table a resolution in the assembly to demand the federal government not to devolve the EOBI. “Now we will take a lead in Punjab and take other parties on board on this issue as well,” he added.
Ch Naseem Iqbal, Punjab president of PWF, said provinces seemed interested in taking control of EOBI due to the huge funds available with the institution and 18 primary properties worth billions, including the one in Lahore where they are building a five-star hotel. He said it was clear that the governments of smaller provinces would not be in a position to financially manage the EOBI Fund and pay pensions.
Therefore, he said, the provincial governments may entrust the function of managing and operating the old-age benefits scheme through the present setup. The Employees' Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) was established by the government of Pakistan in 1976 under the EOBI Act, 1976 to administer the scheme provided under the Act for various benefits. The EOBI started its operation on July 1, 1976 and till date has registered 101,024 employers. The institution has also been able to register 5,772,798 working men and women in the private sector. Currently, it is providing benefits to nearly half a million people under three categories namely old-age pensions, survivors’ pensions and invalidity pensions.