Pakistan : Six labour bodies oppose devolution of WWF, EOBI
HYDERABAD, July 21: Leaders of six labour federations and trade unions have opposed handover of Workers Welfare Board (WWF) and Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) to provinces and demanded repeal
of Workers Welfare Fund Act 2014 enacted by Sindh government in haste.
They said the devolution of WWF and EOBI to provinces would deprive workers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan of the facilities of Tripartite Welfare Organisation because the two provinces had small number of factories and, therefore EOBI and WWF generated limited income.
They proposed that a law ensuring merit-based representation of government, employers and workers should be enacted in line with the ILO convention 144 and Workers Welfare Fund Ordinance 1977 in consultation with labour leaders.
Qamoos Gul Khattak of Muttahida Labour Federation, Rana Mehmood Ali Khan of National Labour Federation, Mehboob Qureshi of Pakistan Workers Federation, Ghulam Sarwar Chandio of All Sindh Trade Union Organisation, Ashraf Rajput of Sindh Sugar Mills Workers Federation and Mohammad Ali Khoso of Sindh Mines Workers Federation said at a press conference at the press club on July 20 that if their demands were not met, they would launch protest sit-ins.
They alleged the portfolio of the labour department had been given to an unelected wadera, Asghar Junejo, who considered industrial workers as his personal haris and preferred to run the department through his front men.
They alleged that postings were made considering ‘corruption potential’ of an officer. The social security department which was responsible for labourers’ healthcare had been destroyed and any inquiry by National Accountability Bureau or audit by Auditor General Sindh into the use of funds at Valika and Landhi hospitals in Karachi would reveal billion of rupees corruption, they said.
They said that facilities of death and dowry grants, scholarships, sewing machines and bicycles that used to be given by WWF were on the decline although such facilities should have been increased after the 18th amendment.
They said that bribe was being demanded for allotment of residential quarters to labourers. Students of model schools did not get books, uniforms, sweaters and shoes over the past two years despite release of funds, they said.
Students suffering from hepatitis who received the first dose of drugs in September 2014 had been left unattended since as their funds had been misappropriated, they said.
They said that 87 cases of death grant of Hyderabad region were sent to secretary of labour on May 23, 2014, but over 30 widows had not so far got their funds over different objections.
They said that secretary was not ready to talk to workers over students’ scholarship and pointed out that Rs3 million meant for mine workers’ medicines were embezzled in 2013-14 but no action had been taken to date in this regard despite the fact that an inquiry had proved the corruption.
They said that Hyderabad regional labour office was without additional and deputy directors and there were reports that officers were required to pay hefty amount for getting posted. The entire department was on the verge of destruction, they said.
Published by Daily Dawn on July 21, 2016
