Amraiz Khan
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar approved free treatment of common patients in the emergency of Punjab Social Security (SS) hospitals along with industrial workers and further directed to work-out feasible recommendations for the treatment of common patients in indoor and outdoor of all social security hospitals.
He issued these directions while presiding over a meeting on Monday. Law Minister Raja Basharat, Labour Minister Ansar Majeed Niazi, secretary labour and others attended the meeting.
The CM allowed necessary amendments in the relevant rules adding that labour workers will also be given insaf sehat cards. He gave in-principle approval to scrap factories’ inspection and directed the labour department to submit recommendations for the introduction of inspector- less regime as well as the self-assessment scheme. The meeting also decided to issue an ordinance concerning the companies profits (workers participation) amendment bill. The future appointments of labour inspectors will be performance-based and the rights of the labourers will be ensured while promoting the best relationship between an employer and employees, concluded the chief minister.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar approved BSL-III labs in Multan and Rahim Yar Khan to provide Corona tests facilities to people. This was decided in a meeting of the cabinet committee for the eradication of Corona at CM Office on Monday. Secretary Primary and Secondary Health briefed about the current corona situation.
The CM directed that the government labs should provide corona tests’ results in the minimum time and warned that no compromise will be made on the quality of tests. A time-frame of the corona test’s result should be fixed in labs, he directed. An average 16000 tests are conducted in the province and the capacity would be increased as up to 25000 tests could be conducted daily. The meeting also gave in-principle approval to give honoraria to corona labs’ staff.
The CM directed the DIG traffic to allow trucks’ entry into the city in the morning for timely provision of oxygen cylinders to the hospitals. He also directed to strictly implement corona SOPs in revenue khidmat open courts as corona ratio is around 5 per cent in Punjab. The smart lockdown has been imposed in 2016 affected areas while restricting the movement of 131000 inhabitants, he added.
The meeting gave in-principle approval to extend the employment of the consultant recruited during the first corona attack and the CM asserted that every step will be taken to overcome the second wave.
Provincial Ministers – Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Yasir Humayun, Murad Raas, SACM Firdous Ashiq Awan, ACSs of HED and Home departments, administrative secretaries, Commissioner Lahore and expert attended the meeting while high ranking military officials, Rawalpindi and Multan commissioners participated through the video-link.