ISLAMABAD:
Right to social security has long been recognised as a fundamental human right and but a bill seeking to provide social security to all Pakistani citizens and to make social security a fundamental right in Pakistan has recently been introduced in the National Assembly.
A lawmaker from the Pakistan People Party (PPP) Agha Rafiullah introduced the bill urging the lower house of the Parliament to consider the provision of social security and basic necessities of life to all citizens as one of their fundamental rights on August 11 – just before the end of the second parliamentary year.
The bill seeks insertion of a new Article 27-A (social security and provision of basic necessities of life) in the Constitution and since the government did not oppose the bill that day, it was referred to a standing committee for further consideration.
Article 27 (safeguard against discrimination in services) states that “no citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth”.
The bill namely the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, suggests that the new article shall be inserted after Article 27 of the Constitution. It states that “the state shall provide for all the persons employed in the service of Pakistan or otherwise, social security by compulsory social insurance or by other means.”
It further adds that “the state shall also provide the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief, for all such citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race as are permanently or temporarily unable to earn their livelihood on account of infirmity, sickness and unemployment.”
Through the bill, Rafiullah has asked to omit paragraphs (c) and (d) from Article 38 of the Constitution because they state the same as proposed in the bill. Simply put, the PPP legislature has requested the assembly to move the social security and provision of basic necessities of life clauses in the first chapter – fundamental rights – instead of keeping them in chapter two of the Constitution – principles of policies.
A social security system is in place with different names and schemes in dozens of countries around the world. In the UK, monetary assistance from the state for people with an inadequate or no income is known as social security while in the US, a federal insurance scheme provides benefits for pensioners and those who are unemployed or disabled.
In the statement of objects and reasons, Rafiullah has stated that millions of workers in Pakistan have either lost their jobs or they are set to lose their jobs because of the coronavirus crises and most would not get financial support to ease the blow.
Currently, he stated, social protection was not a fundamental right and as a result, only a select few from the working class were registered with institutions offering social security and old-age benefits.
According to data, he maintained, just 7.12 million workers are registered with state-run social security institution, including the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) and Worker Welfare Fund.
He continued by stating that an overwhelming majority of workers, not registered with any such institution, remains deprived of health, education, housing, death and dowry grants, as well as pension.
To ensure the provision of social security to workers across Pakistan, he concluded, it is need of hour to include social security and provision of basic necessities of life in the chapter of fundamental rights.
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