Old-age benefit

In our country, there are countless people who, even after having worked for over 30 years, are not entitled to any old-age benefit, pension or gratuity. Once a person retires from his job or becomes too weak to perform his job, he becomes a dead weight on his family and society. Every day, a majority of people join the ranks of those who have been ‘exploited for life’ and ‘reduced to dependency’ because the state did not create an old-age benefit scheme for millions of individuals working in the informal sector. The current law for EOBI and social security, applicable only where an employer has more than five employees, is grossly inadequate. It simply has no place for a self-employed worker.

Pakistan can make revolutionary improvements in the lives of its citizens if it was to legislate and ensure that every citizen, regardless of the organisation and type of work, receives minimum legal wage and is registered with EOBI. It must be legally binding for anyone who employs even a single worker (such as a domestic help) to meet the above conditions.

Naeem Sadiq

Karachi