Sindh to provide health insurance coverage to coalmine workers

Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh on Wednesday chaired a meeting to consider different proposals to extend health insurance coverage to the workers associated with the Lakhra coalfields.

The Sindh energy secretary and chief executive officer of a leading insurance company and other relevant officials attended the meeting. The energy minister said on the occasion that the manifesto of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had always been for ensuring welfare and protection of the rights of the underprivileged labourers.

He mentioned that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took personal interest in the affairs related to welfare of the workers. He maintained that following the same pro-welfare vision of the PPP, the Sindh government wanted to procure the services of a leading insurance service provider to extend complete healthcare treatment and financial assistance in case any worker of the Lakhra coalmines met an accident at the workplace.

The insurance coverage was necessary for coalfield workers during their testing times and hardships, Shaikh remarked. The representatives of the insurance company who attended the meeting provided different proposals for the purpose. The energy minister asked them to present a comprehensive programme so that the health insurance facility to the coalmine workers of the province could be provided as soon as possible.