HYDERABAD, Dec 14: Spea-kers at a seminar on ‘Sindh Social Security, EOBI and workers’ said that the Sindh social security and EOBI system had failed to protect interests of workers. The seminar was organized by the Sindh chapter of the National Labour Federation.

Provincial president of the federation, Rana Mehmood Ali Khan, presided over the seminar.

Hanif Khanzada, Shakeel Shaikh, Saeed Qureshi, Siraj Gaddi, Rana Mehmood said the two organizations had lost their creditability and were involved in corrupt practices.

They said they were set up for welfare of employees but for all practical purposes, they were protecting interests of employers.

The seminar approved a declaration, stating that Rs500 million Sindh Social Security budget was not being used to provide medical treatment to workers and medicines were being stolen and ambulances were being misused by doctors and the staff.

It said that salaries were paid to favourites and absent employees and 40 per cent of employees had been kept out of the social security benefits due to officials of the institute in connivance with industrialists.

It claimed that 90 per cent employees of bangle industry had been excluded from the social security scheme after introduction of the contract system.

The declaration said of 1,600 workers of the Indus Jute Mills Dhabeji, only 600 workers had been included in the social security scheme.

It alleged that in all hotels and workshops employing more than five workers, 95 per cent of them had been kept out of the scheme.

The declaration said the similar situation was prevailing in the EOBI as only 226,000 workers had been included in the pension scheme excluding Karachi while 200,000 more workers were qualified to be included in the pension scheme.

It pointed out that the social security and EOBI laws had been rendered obsolete and those workers who had become disabled before 1990 were being paid pension of between Rs200 to Rs350 during the present days of hyper-inflation.

Similarly, it said widows of workers were receiving only Rs1,000 pension.

It demanded that the governing bodies of both these organizations be dissolved and honest representative of workers be nominated on governing bodies.