EoBI, Workers Fund: Punjab government considering moving Supreme Court

Punjab government is considering to move a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to direct the authorities concerned to transfer assets of Employees Old Age Benefit Institution and Workers Welfare Fund to the provinces in line with 18th constitutional amendment.
Provincial Secretary Labour, Hasan Iqbal said this while addressing the advocacy meeting on 'post scenario in purview of draft policy of home based workers' organised by Home Net Pakistan here Saturday. Hassan said that federal government is bound to transfer the assets of EOBI and Workers Welfare Fund to the provinces after the devolution plan but despite raising the issue with the federal government several times the government is not ready to transfer these assets to the provinces.
He said that Chief Minister Punjab has constituted a committee to draft a bill for the legislation for the home based workers and the first meeting of the council was held recently and the working groups for the legislation was made in this meeting. These working groups will present their recommendations regarding legislation for the home based workers in 15 to 20 days in the next meeting of the committee.
Advocate Salman Raja said that benefit of the labour laws made for the home based workers should be reached at the union council level however Raja showed reservations on the criteria of enrolment of home based workers. He stressed the need of evolving a transparent policy for the enrolment of the workers so that enrolment should not be used for political gains and there is a possibility that political parties enrolled their workers as home based workers.