LAHORE, June 19: The Labour Department has not been properly devolved in 15 far-flung districts of Punjab from where poor workers have to travel hundreds of kilometres to the provincial metropolis for redress of their grievances.

Whereas the district labour officers in 19 districts are empowered to adjudicate in all matters related to labour laws because of being placed in Grades 17, 18 or 19, workers in the 15 districts where Grade 16 officials have been posted as district labour officers are constrained to approach the Lahore-based Punjab joint director (headquarters) for adjudication in matters like registration of trade unions and payment of wages, compensation and shops and establishment. Devolution has proved to be a curse for the workers in 15 districts who earlier had to visit only the divisional headquarters for solution of their problems.

The devolution plan has not been properly implemented in 15 districts because of the categorisation of districts by a committee of Labour Department joint directors. The province was divided into eight zones based on former divisions and Lahore into north and south zones. All the 10 zones were administered by joint directors prior to the devolution.

The committee divided the districts in province into A, B and C categories. The former divisional headquarters (zones) were placed in the A category, the second most important districts in the B category and the least attractive districts in the C category.

The committee recommended posting of nine out of 10 joint directors as district labour officers in the nine A category districts and the 10th as the joint director (headquarters). Their juniors were to be posted as district labour officers in 10 B category districts. More junior officers were to be posted as DLOs in the remaining 15 C category districts.

Former Grade 19 joint directors were thus posted as DLOs in eight former divisional headquarters and the provincial metropolis while Grade 17 and 18 officers took control of 10 less important districts. Grade 16 officers were posted as DLOs in the remaining districts under the joint director (headquarters).

The following districts have been placed under the control of powerless Grade 16 district labour officers: Toba Tek Singh, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Bhakkar, Khushab, Mianwali, Pakpattan, Narowal, Chakwal, Lodhran, Vehari, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Layyah and Rajanpur.