EOBI should go to provinces: Murad

CM, federal minister discuss overseas Pakistanis, labour welfare

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah met with Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain to discuss issues pertaining to overseas Pakistanis, labour welfare, and human resource development.

The meeting was attended by Provincial Minister for Labour Saeed Ghani, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Federal Secretary for Overseas Pakistanis Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, and other senior officials.

The meeting focused on the devolution of the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and the Workers' Welfare Fund (WWF) to the provinces. CM Shah stated that transferring these institutions to provincial control would benefit workers and improve service delivery. He highlighted that ongoing legal disputes have hindered the effective utilisation of these funds, as neither the federal nor provincial government can fully access them.

"Protecting workers' rights is a shared responsibility between the federation and the provinces," the chief minister said.

Federal Minister Hussain assured that the issues would be addressed through mutual consultation and consensus. He stressed the importance of continued coordination between federal and provincial authorities to effectively tackle labour welfare challenges.

It was agreed that further consultations would continue, with Federal Minister Salik and Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani leading their respective teams to formulate actionable recommendations regarding EOBI and WWF matters. In another development, CM Shah directed a team from the Planning and Development Department to inspect the under-construction bridge over the Malir River at N-5 (Murghikhana), Qaidabad, Malir. The bridge is a key infrastructure project aimed at improving Karachi's traffic flow and regional connectivity. The Monitoring and Evaluation (MEC) team, led by Engineer Aurangzeb Vistro (RMEO) and Engineer Imran Memon, reviewed the Rs3 billion project's progress and quality. Technical staff, including Engr. Kamran (AEE), Engr.

Minhaj Uddin Nasri (RE), and consultants, conducted detailed assessments, including non-destructive tests (NDT) with a Schmidt hammer to check concrete strength and measurements of girders and transom dimensions.

Chairman P&D Najam Shah and DG P&D Altaf Sario informed the chief minister that the project's physical progress has reached 65%, with financial expenditure at 61.6%. The MEC team termed the pace of work satisfactory.