Punjab government launches welfare projects for labourers: minister

Punjab Labour Minister Haji Ehsaan-ud-Din Qureshi has said that labourers are the backbone of our economy and the provincial government has launched a number of welfare projects for labourers. He said that without upgrading the socio-economic status of the labourer community, the target of industrial development could not be achieved.
He said that Labour Department had provided Rs 75 million interest free micro credit amongst brick kilns workers in two districts for the elimination of bonded labour, child labour, exploitation of brick kiln workers. He stated that a special project had been launched to strengthen law enforcement against internal trafficking and bonded labour in the province.
He averred that ILO was working to address bonded and forced labour problems in the world.
He mentioned that the Punjab efforts for curbing child labour had been appreciated by US State Department and ILO in their reports. While talking to a delegation of industrial workers, Qureshi said that 200 non-formal education centers were providing 7,000 students at brick kilns in Lahore and Kasur districts whereas about 5,700 workers were facilitated to acquire CNICs.
He told that veterinary staff visited 154 brick kilns and provided treatment to 448 animals of brick kiln labourers. He said that the department organised health camps at brick kilns and free of cost treatment was provided to 1300 labourers.
He said that free education including books, stationery, transport and uniform were also being provided to 28,000 children of workers in 46 workers welfare schools of the province.
He said that Welfare Board was bearing all educational expenses of the children of workers in those six districts of Punjab where workers welfare schools did not exist. He said that the government was implementing a comprehensive programme for providing modern educational as well as state of the art healthcare facilities to the labourers and workers' children.
He dilated that main objective of the labour department was to provide free of cost comprehensive healthcare facilities to the workers and their family members and four new medical colleges would be opened up in the province in health sector whereas, two medical colleges each at Lahore and Faisalabad would be launched by the labour department, he added.