LAHORE: The Punjab government will recruit labour inspectors to overcome the shortage of staff required for effective implementation of labour laws.

The step comes in the wake of GSP Plus status given by the European Union to the country. The status gives tax-free access to Pakistani exports to EU countries. However, it requires that the beneficiary country among other things complies with the international labour standards.

Presently, the sanctioned strength of the staff -- from inspectors up to assistant directors -- is 180.

There are hundreds of thousands of shops and more than 7,000 industrial units only in Lahore, but only seven inspectors are deputed to check implementation of labour laws.

To improve the situation a little bit, the provincial government has decided to recruit more inspectors as PC-I of the project is in the pipeline.

The project also includes the recruitment of women inspectors, a senior official said.

Punjab Gender Mainstreaming Focal Person Tahir Manzoor, who is preparing the project proposal, says he hopes the project will be implemented before the end of the current financial year.

He said five women inspectors would be employed in the first phase and one at each district in the next phase.

The women inspectors, he said, were being hired to help women workers shy of discussing their problems with male inspectors.

“Women in our culture may not discuss issues like sexual health and harassment with their colleagues and bosses,” the official said.

He claimed that other provinces were following in the footstep of Punjab and were also recruiting five women inspectors each.