From Menahill Rashid
FAISALABAD: The entire system of the labor and human resource department has been digitalized and 99 percent employers are paying their contribution online, said Mr. Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi, Provincial Minister for Labor and Human Resource.
Addressing the business community in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), he said that Faisalabad is the largest industrial hub of Punjab but the number of registered workers is only 2.5 -3.lac whereas according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), these numbers are much higher than this reported figure.
He said that the Provincial Minister for industries had announced an inspector-less regime but we have introduced a self-assessment scheme under which an audit of only 15 percent units will be conducted.
He said that we have already announced an amnesty scheme under which one-time benefits of Rs.5.5 billion were passed on to the employers while they are also entitled for another relief of Rs.400 million per annum.
“All claims filed under self-assessment scheme would be accepted without any objection”, he said and added that we have signed a MOU with Bank of Punjab to issue labor cards under which the card holder could also enjoy special subsidy on their selected purchases.
He said that in Punjab nine Lac laborers were registered but now their numbers have jumped to 11,40, 000. He said that we are trying to issue cards to each and every laborer as soon as possible. He said that workers Welfare Fund (WWF) has been established in Punjab and employers have so far contributed Rs.1.5 billion in this head. “It will enable the government to pass on more relief to the workers”, he said and added that physical work has been started on many new social security hospitals in Punjab including one in Millat Industrial Estate Faisalabad.
He said that Rs.900 million has been released for this purpose in addition to allocating Rs.2 billion for the purchase of medicines.
