Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Wednesday inaugurated a labour colony by distributing allotment letters of 208 flats among industrial workers in Warburton area of Nankana Sahib, besides launching Sehat Insaf Cards in the area.
Speaking on the occasion, Buzdar said 70 acres of land had been allocated for Baba Guru Nanak University in Nankana Sahib, adding that the district jail, police lines, NADRA office and a new land record centre would also be set up in the district.
He said labour colonies would be constructed in every district, and allotment of 1,189 flats of labour colonies of Lahore and Multan would be started soon. He asserted that the second phase of Warburton labourers’ flats would be started along with construction of 50-bed social security hospitals in Sargodha, DG Khan and Rahim Yar Khan. He mentioned that minimum monthly wages for unskilled and skilled workers were being fixed at Rs 16,500 and Rs 17,000 to Rs 19,000, respectively.
Referring to the labourers, Buzdar said those who built others’ houses yearned for their own shelter, and in fact the common man had for the last 70 years been ignored and deceived in the name of food, clothing and shelter, but this common man was the pivot of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) policies.
Buzdar says necessary amendments being made to labour laws to facilitate workers
“Today, we have fulfilled the promise of providing flats to workers, and 1,397 flats are being allotted initially, while more labour colonies will be constructed in the province by the Punjab Workers Welfare board,” he added.
He said the social security hospitals would be transformed into centres of excellence in phases, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre to start a Health Management Information System at those hospitals. He said the Gynae Ward of the Social Security Hospital, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, would be upgraded.
The chief minister also announced that marriage grant for labourers; children would be enhanced from Rs 100,000 to Rs 150,000, and death grant from Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000.
Instead of providing stationery items, uniform, and shoes etc to students enrolled in 65 labourers’ schools, the parents of such students would be given money through smart cards, he added.
He said a comprehensive Punjab Labour Policy-2018 had been approved by provincial cabinet and necessary amendments were also being made to labour laws to facilitate the workers. He said domestic servants had been acknowledged as labourers and the Punjab Domestic Workers Law, 2019, was enforced. He said the Punjab Workplace Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2018, had also been launched to discourage child labour, while elimination of gender discrimination would be ensured. He said online registration of shops and industrial units would be possible through a web portal, and added that pensioners would not have to visit offices again and again because of online payment system in Punjab. Moreover, he said an insurance scheme was being introduced for treatment of ailing labourers after their retirement, and a complaint cell would also be set up to facilitate labourers and workers.
Buzdar said that around seven million families and 35 million people would benefit from the Sehat Insaf Card scheme in Punjab, and this scheme would enable the poor to have quality medical treatment at best hospitals. He said the PTI government would protect labourers’ rights at all costs, and they would not have to sleep on roads after the construction of Panagahs (shelter homes).
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said that 88,000 Sehat Insaf Cards would be distributed in Nankana Sahib, and added that retired labourers would also be provided the cards. On the occasion, Labour Minister Ansar Majeed Niazi presented a cheque of Rs 10 million to Buzdar as donation from industrial workers for the dam fund. Federal Minister Ijaz Shah said that Nankana Sahib district was ignored in the past, and revealed that 22,000 kanals of state land had been retrieved from land grabbers in Nankana Sahib during the anti-encroachment campaign launched by Punjab government.
Condemnation:
Meanwhile, Buzdar strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the border region of Northern Waziristan. He praised the bravery of Pakistan Army soldiers and said that they had foiled the nefarious designs of the terrorists. “We pay tributes to the martyrs who have fulfilled the responsibility of defence of the country. Peace has been restored due to the sacrifices of these martyrs,” he added. He also prayed for the early recovery of the injured.