‘Factory workers given insufficient wages’

Minister says govt plans to introduce law to nab those guilty of exploitation

LAHORE:

Punjab Minister for Labour and Human Resource Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi on Friday admitted that the labourers have been denied proper wages in factories.

He was answering the queries put forth by the treasury and opposition lawmakers in Punjab Assembly (PA) during a question and answer session.

In response to a query, Ansar Majeed revealed that the government was planning to distribute health cards to the retired workers.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Hina Pervez Butt alleged that there was not even a single factory in Punjab where the labourers are given wages that have been fixed by the government.

The labour minister responding to the criticism said, “Corruption cannot be weeded out forcefully. The government intends to introduce legislation through which this matter will be resolved”

Applauding the opposition’s role, he said that in the past the suggestions given by the opposition were thrown into the dustbins but now the time has changed and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government honours the recommendations given by them.

Responding to the query posed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Parliamentary Leader Syed Hassan Murtaza about introducing comprehensive policy on labour’s hospitals and colonies, the minister said that registration of nearly three million labourers should have been completed in 2018 but the concerned department failed to do so.

Later, the proceedings were led by the Panel of Chairman and after completion of discourse on agenda items the lower house was adjourned till Monday 2pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2020.