Federal govt urged to retain Labour, Manpower Ministry

NOWSHERA: Provincial Minister for Labour and Mineral Development Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli on Sunday urged the federal government to retain the Labour and Manpower Ministry.She was speaking at a function arranged by the Muttahida Labour Foundation at the Community Hall in connection with the International Labour Day.

Muttahida Labour Federation provincial President Mohammad Iqbal, Chairman Ajmali Khan, General Secretary Mohammad Nabi and a large number of labourers were present on the occasion.Tahirkheli said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had passed a resolution regarding the Workers Welfare Board and the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI).

The minister said that Punjab and Sindh should play the role of elder brothers and take into consideration the miseries of the labourers in the smaller provinces i.e. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

“The Sindh carried out legislation and the Punjab is also doing so after the devolution of the Workers Welfare Board and EOBI to the provinces under the 18th constitutional amendment,” she said.

The minister said that devolving suchlike institutions to the provinces would affect the labourers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.    Tahirkheli said that many industrial units and factories were shut in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa owing to militancy that had rendered thousands of workers jobless.

She said that the provincial government would spare no effort to mitigate the sufferings of the poor. She said nobody would be allowed to exploit the labourers and deprive them of their due rights.