Siraj for clearing EOBI arrears

LAHORE

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq demanded the government to immediately clear the arrears of around 500,000 old age industrial workers' pensions who were on the verge of starvation due to government apathy. 

Talking to the office-bearers of the Old Age Employees Welfare Association who called on him at Mansoora on Wednesday, he said industrial pensioners were facing hardships due to non-payments of their arrears besides rising prices of basic commodities.

He deplored that the government had totally ignored the Supreme Court directions and NA resolution for the raise in pensions of the old age industrial workers.

He demanded that the EOBI pensions be raised to Rs. 10,000.

The EOBI leaders included Association President Raja Mukhtar Ahmed, Secretary Muhammad Saeed Awan and others.

Siraj said if rulers did not implement the apex court orders, the workers would be forced to take to the streets. He said rulers were persistently ignoring the rights of the workers and the farmers due to which there was great unrest in the society.

He said every state in the present era gave great respect to senior citizens and provided them free food, lodging, travelling and medical cover.

However, he said Pakistani rulers were totally blind to the plight of old citizens against the Islamic teachings and the constitution.

He said government had not yet paid off Rs. three trillion that had been deducted from the salaries of the workers, he added.

Siraj said present government had presented three budgets in which the pensions of government employees had been enhanced.

However, the registered pensioners of the EOBI had been completely ignored. He said these industrial employees regularly subscribed to the social security fund despite their small salaries but they were not getting medical facilities at the Social Security hospitals and dispensaries.

The government, he said, had also promised medical cover under the Labour policy but that too was not being implemented.