EFP challenges nominations for SESSI board

KARACHI: Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) strongly disapproves all the four handpicked employer nominees on Sindh Employees Social Security Institution’s (SESSI) governing body, its top official said.

“These employers have been “nominated” by Commissioner SESSI which in itself a travesty of justice,” said Ismail Suttar, President EFP, in a statement.

Suttar said the SESSI governing body was responsible for monitoring and controlling the activities of the institution and ensured that it was working diligently and transparently.

“The commissioner reports to the governing body and it is ironic that he himself blatantly and unilaterally nominated employer representatives. This is a mala fide intent on the part of commissioner because Section 5 of Sindh Employees Social Security Act 2016 does not empower the Commissioner to recommend nominations,” the EFP president said.

He said it seemed that the commissioner was dancing to the tunes of the Sindh labour minister and secretary because he was well aware that EFP nominees had always safeguarded the funds contributed by employers for the benefit and welfare of the workers and ensured that corruption was minimised.

Suttar added that with each passing day, the Labour Department was further mired in corruption, nepotism, wastage of resources, mismanagement and abuse of power. He alleged that the so-called employer nominees were so busy being on various committees and boards plus runnning their own businesses, that they did not have time to attend SESSI meetings and were not concerned in monitoring the institution’s activities.

Suttar said the governing boards of SESSI, Sindh EOBI, Sindh Workers Welfare Fund and the Sindh Minimum Wages, were restructured after amendments approved by Sindh Assembly.