Punjab Assembly passes bills amid Opp’s protest

LAHORE:The Punjab government on Friday passed different bills, including the Punjab Home-Based Workers Bill 2021, amid protest from the Opposition.

The other bills passed by the government included the Punjab Shops and Establishment (Amendment Bill 2021), the Companies Profits (Workers Participation) (Amendment Bill 2020), the Punjab Overseas Pakistanis Commission Bill 2020, the Punjab Apprenticeship Bill 2021, the Sugar Factories (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2021, the Punjab Educational Institution (Reconstitution) Bill 2021 and the University of Child Health Sciences, Lahore, Bill 2021.

The session started with a delay of nearly two hours. Panel of Chairman Mian Shafi Muhammad chaired the session. Malik Ahmed Khan while speaking on the point of order said that government was bulldozing the rules to make legislation of its choice. Law Minister Raja Basharat while responding to the PML-N MPA said that all the bills were being passed in accordance with the rules. He said the process of legislation could not suffer if someone did not show interest in attending the meeting of Standing Committees. Later, the session was prorogued.

Earlier, Home-Based Workers’ (HBWs) provincial policy processes started after devolution and Punjab was the first province to notify the provincial council for HBWs to finalise the policy and law.

The HBW bill has finally been presented in the Punjab assembly. The policy was notified in 2015 but it took so many years for the law to be presented in the assembly. The effort that started in 2011 has finally seen the light of the day in 2021. NGO HomeNet Pakistan (HNP) and its members appreciated the government’s recognition of informal economy workers.

HBWs do not have employment contracts or employer-employee relationships. The process of registration should be simple as per ILO C 177. HNP has called upon the government to allocate funds for the enactment of the bill, ensure immediate registration with Punjab Employees Social Security Institute (PESSI) and introduce new schemes for HBWs, notify district-based desks for the registration, ensure application of minimum wages and notify a provincial level body for oversight.

HNP also demands conducting of biannual survey of HBWs and their inclusion in the labour force survey to regularise them as women workforce. “Funds for HBWs be allocated to Women Department, Social Welfare Department, Local Government, Technical and Vocational Education and Training and devise mechanism to ensure their occupational health and safety,” demands the NGO that works for home-based workers.