No raise in minimum wage for labourers: Sindh Assembly informed

The government has not increased minimum wage for labourers in 2011, while 11,765 jobless persons get them registered with Employment Exchange in Karachi alone during 2010, told Sindh Labour Minister Amir Nawab during the Sindh Assembly session on Saturday.
Replying to questions of provincial legislators with Speaker Nisar Khohro in chair, he said the Sindh Minimum Wage Board (MWB) had no authority to increase the remuneration for labourers as it always acted in line with the reference in this connection made by the Sindh government. He said MWB worked under section (4 & 5) of Minimum Wage Ordinance 1961.
About the Workers Welfare Fund, he said it was collected by the Sindh Finance Department directly through Income Tax Department. He made it clear that fund collection was not the mandate of Sindh Workers Welfare Board. He said the distribution of fund was made by the governing body of Workers Welfare Fund, Islamabad in line with the approved budget.
To a question, he said the Sindh Employees Social Security Institutions (Sessi) had not established any new hospitals for the labourers in the last two years. He also informed the house that there had been no specialised medical care facility for "Beedi" workers but they were being provided treatment at any of the Sessi established hospitals.
He said Sindh Labour Department had carried out no studies on harmful impact of the Beedi making on the labourers'' health. He said there was no law in place to improve the social and economic conditions of the contract labourers as per the labour department''s jurisdiction.
Amir Nawab said the Sessi was an independent organisation in the folds of Sindh Labour Department which was providing medical and protection to the contract labourers and their families under Provincial Employees Social Security Ordinance, 1965.
Later on point of order, a lady legislator of Pakistan Muslim League Functional (PML-F) questioned the seriousness of the members of Sindh Assembly''s Privilege Committee, as the committee had yet to choose its chairman. She said the members did not seem interested to participate in the committee''s affairs and discuss the issues referred to them.
She said it seemed there was a need of bringing a motion to demand for formation of a committee to see the reasons behind the dysfunctional privilege committee. She demanded for reformation of the committee members if the present ones were not interested to run it. Later, Nisar Khohro adjourned the session till Tuesday morning at 10 am.