KARACHI, Oct 14: Sindh minister for planning and development Shoaib Bukhari has criticized the managements of local industrial concerns and units for not adopting adequate safety measures to protect lives of industrial workers, saying a large number of skilled workforce die and many others sustain serious injuries annually in industrial accidents.

“It seems there exists no law for the protection of workers at local industrial units and concerns, and if any law is there it is not being implemented by local industrialists,” he said on Tuesday while speaking at a two-day national seminar on “Occupational Health, Safety and Environment” being held by the Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) at its Karachi centre.

Over 100 environmentalists, fire safety experts, industrialists and specialists on occupational health working at multinational, national, private and government industries are attending the seminar.

Mr Shoaib Bukhari said industrialists should realize the importance of human life and provide all necessary equipment and facilities for the protection of those who not only contributed towards national development but also benefited industrialists.

Mr Bukhari cited various recent incidents at local industrial units in which many labourers lost their lives due to inadequate health and safety measures. He regretted that nobody learned any lesson from disastrous industrial accidents and improve occupational health standards.

“The IEP has raised a very important issue and I assure you people that it will be raised in provincial as well as federal assemblies,” he said and asked the IEP to send the recommendations of the seminar to the government for preparation of laws accordingly.

Earlier, chairman IEP Karachi centre, Engr Khalid Quraishi, in his welcome address said seminars organized by the institution acted as mini-parliaments of engineering professionals and various other stake-holders, where issues were debated and possible solutions and methodologies of solutions were worked out in the form of recommendations.

He said the proposed draft of the Emergency Services Ordinance 2002 should either be promulgated or debated in both the houses of the parliament in the form of a bill. “Another ordinance on occupational health and safety is in the pipeline, which should also be presented in the parliament,” he said and added that there was also a need to form a national council on health and safety.

Engr Anwarul Haq Siddiqui, in his keynote address, said that in addition to formulation of laws, there was a need to educate the masses, especially children, about safety measures and precautions, so that a culture of care could developed among them.

Secretary IEP, Engr I.H siddiqui, also spoke on the occasion. Eminent experts and professors of engineering universities are chairing five technical sessions planned for the seminar.—PPI