SCCI members urge govt to simplify labour laws

PESHAWAR: The business community on Friday urged the provincial government to simplify labour laws and direct relevant departments to jointly inspect factories.

Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Sherbaz Bilour conveyed these demands to KP Minister for Labour and Culture, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai during his visit to the chamber. SCCI senior vice-president Manzoor Elahi, vice-president Junaid Altaf, Ghazanfar Bilour, Secretary Labour, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Director Labour Irfanullah and others were present on the occasion. Businessman Zahidullah Shinwari pointed out multiple labour laws, legal complications/irritants, non-implementation of labour policy 2018, and inspections of factories by different government departments, workers participation fund and difficulties of the business community due to the enforcement of unilateral policies of the Labour Department. He demanded the provincial government to simplify the labour laws to ease difficulties of the business community. The businessman proposed that there should be joint inspections of factories by all departments concerned on a yearly or monthly basis.

He went on to say that the separate raids by different departments had created an environment of the confrontation between authorities and the business community.

Stressing the need for making legislation for workers participation funds, Zahid Shinwari believed the step would be beneficial for the provincial government as well as the departments concerned. Expressing resentment at the highhandedness and arrest of traders on the pretext of violating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Ghazanfar Bilour said the district administration should not punish traders and impose heavy fines on them for not enforcing mask-wearing on customers.

He asked the government to give relief to the coronavirus lockdown affected trading community instead of multiplying their miseries by taking unilateral actions and policies. Earlier, KP Minister for Labour and Culture, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, while responding to different queries assured that the government would take every possible step to facilitate the business community.

He said the government was taking steps to introduce certain amendments to provincial labour policy and wanted input from the business community to the amends. The minister assured that the procedure of inspection of factories would be simplified to address grievances of the business community.

Shaukat Yousafzai said a committee had been constituted to look into the establishment of a labour colony. He agreed with the proposals by the participants of the meeting assured he would take up the issue of district administration highhandedness and arrest of traders with the chief minister.