CM asks labour adviser to prepare plan forthwith

1,000 illegally occupied residential flats for labourers ordered to be vacated

Acknowledging the need to provide all labourers’ the Universal Social Security, the Sindh chief minister asked his labour adviser to prepare a plan with respect to the proposal and present it at public forums for an open debate.

The suggestion to provide social security to labourers, including those who were self-employed, was given to the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah by his labour adviser, Senator Saeed Ghani, during a meeting held to discuss issues of the labour department.

The meeting was also attended by adviser to CM on law Murtaza Wahab, chief secretary Siddique Memon, secretary labour Rasheed Solangi, secretary finance Hassan Naqvi and others.

Those operating push carts or small cabins were also suggested to be provided the social security - necessarily to be provided under the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Conventions, to all those falling under the definition of a labourer.

Senator Ghani proposed to provide them health and educational facilities against three percent cut in their minimum wage.

Discussing the plan’s implementation mechanism, he said the workers would be given a ‘Benazir Card’, issued by Nadra, so as to enable them to avail health and education facilities.

Those who were self-employed would be convinced to avail the facilities through different campaigns. “Since it would be in their benefit, they would prefer to contribute,” the law adviser observed.

Approving the plan, Murad directed the labour department to develop a data base of the secured 765,000 workers and their dependents. “A computerised record comprising all details of a worker should be maintained and uploaded for transparency, while a similar arrangement may also be made in the labour department’s health facilities,” the CM stated.

Further Senator Ghani also suggested merging the various employees’ funds, such as the SESSI, provincial EOBI and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) since their functions and objections overlapped, and also to make it easy for the employers to deal with workers on a single platform.

Appreiciating the senator’s suggestion, the CM directed Ghani to sit with his (CM) law advisor Murtaza Wahab and advocate general, Barrister Zamir Ghumro, to study the funds’ rules and regulations and submit a proposal. The AG was further directed to have Rs10.39 billion, meant for the Workers Profit Participation Fund, released from the custody of the court’s Nazir and have the amount transferred to the workers’ welfare board.

Housing facilities

The CM was reported to have strictly asked divisional administrations to have apartments meant for residential purposes of the labourers illegally occupied by mafias, vacated.

Senator Ghani informed the CM that at least 1,000 apartments were constructed for industrial workers at Gulshan-e-Maymar, the possession for which were to be handed over after successful balloting, instead the spaces were wrongfully occupied by police officers and other officials of the government and private organisations.

Murad directed city commissioner, Aijaz Ali Khan, to take necessary action and get the apartments vacated and report back to him. 

Senator Ghani further urged the CM to have at least two more labour colonies constructed, one at Ghaggar Phatak in Karachi and another in Daharki. For the purpose he requested the CM to allot 200 acres of land, 100 acres for each location, for the housing projects.