Daily Times

• The Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children (Amendment) Bill 2017 will be tabled in Punjab Assembly soon

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to widen the scope of the existing Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act 2016 to cover child domestic workers.

Gulnaz Shahzadi, a treasury member on a reserved seat for women, Tuesday introduced ‘The Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children (Amendment) Bill 2017’ in the Punjab Assembly but withdrew it later on the request of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah after assurance that the bill would be moved from the government.

The bill – yet to be tabled – aims at curbing domestic child labour and regulation of working conditions for child domestic workers in the province as the existing act keeps mum on issue of domestic child labour.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Assembly session started almost two hours late to its scheduled time at 10am under the chair of Speaker Rana Iqbal. Later, the deputy speaker conducted the session until its adjournment for today (Wednesday).

During the non-governmental business in the house, opposition boycotted the session in a protest against government for not taking up its bill on motor vehicles moved by Opposition Leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed. The chair pended the said amendment bill until next week on the request of Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.

Two resolutions were also passed by the house. The first one was moved by Dr Najma Afzal Khan asking the house to legislate on annual medical checkups of students in all public and private schools in the province, while the second resolution was moved by Nighat Sheikk, which was related to hold a crackdown on fake spiritual healers, suggesting imposition of a ban on any kind of advertisement in this regard.

Published in Daily Times, October 25^th 2017.