Staff Reporter
Peshawar
The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has drafted Home-Based Workers Bill and Home-Based Workers Policy and would be sent to competent fora for approval soon. Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Occupational Safety and Health Bill has also been drafted and vetted which will soon be presented to the provincial cabinet.
This was told during a meeting regarding reforms being introduced in Labour Department held here with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair, said an official handout issued here Saturday. Besides, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, members of provincial cabinet Shaukat Yousfzai, Sultan Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, Qalandar Lodhi and Arif Ahmadzai, concerned authorities from both federal and provincial governments attended the meeting.
The meeting reviewed in detail the progress made so far by the provincial government on various reform initiatives in labour sector. Matters related to the devolution of various subjects of labour sector from federal to the provincial government also came under discussion.
Briefing the meeting about various ongoing schemes of the provincial government launched for the welfare of labourers, it was informed that 95 percent work had been completed on the construction of 2056 labour flats and establishment of Labour City at Regi Lalma Peshawar, and 98 percent work has also been completed on the construction of Workers Welfare Board Building at Hayatabad Peshawar whereas 70 percent work on the establishment of Folks Grammar School at Bannu.
The meeting was further informed that schemes completed so far by the provincial government for the labour community include 5538 small houses, 12 community centres, six residences for teaching staff, 18 Working Folks Grammar Schools, nine vocational institutes, 60 bed-kidney centre, 12 medicare centres and polyclinics and a 25-bed hospital. The meeting was also told that a scheme worth Rs 59 million has been approved to implement the occupational safety and health of labourers/mine workers and another scheme worth Rs. 241 million for Child Labour Survey is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan termed the wellbeing and protection of labourers rights as one of the focused areas of his government and said that a number of projects and welfare schemes aimed at the wellbeing of labourers were being completed in the province on priority basis adding that legislation was in process in the province to ensure occupational safety.
