Workers’ welfare: Social Security Institute budget approved

Minister for Labour and Human Resource Raja Ashfaq Sarwar on Thursday urged officers and staff at the Punjab Employees’ Social Security Institute (PESSI) to do their best to ensure social security benefits for the secured workers and their family members.

The minister was chairing the 130th meeting of the PESSI governing body.

PESSI Commissioner Mansoor Qadir, Vice Commissioner Humaira Ikram, Labour and Human Resource Additional Secretary Adnan Arshad Olakh, representatives of the Finance, Industry and Health Departments and members of the governing body attended the meeting.

The governing body approved the 2016-17 budget of Rs12.72 billion. Rs1.26 billion has been allocated for administrative expenditures. Rs378.39 million has been reserved for cash benefits for secured workers. Profit from various investments and banks has been estimated at Rs171.8 million. Current expenditure has been fixed at Rs11.11 billion during 2016-17.

The governing body also gave its consent for the revised PESSI budget for 2015-16.

Mansoor Qadir told the meeting that the institute had regularised the services of all employees in grades 1 to 15. The governing body also approved Rs2 million for the medical treatment of a three-year-old son of a secured worker from Armed Forces Bone Marrow Transplant centre.

The body agreed to raise daily food allowance of under-treatment secured industrial workers from Rs100 to Rs150. The meeting considered acquiring services of anaesthesia specialists for social security hospitals on a case to case basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2016.