ISLAMABAD, April 30: The government has announced several measures for the welfare of workers including enhanced physical injury or death grants as well as increased help for marriage and more scholarships for children of workers. Details of the measures were unveiled by Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Ghulam Sarwar Khan at a press conference held here on the eve of Labour Day.

The minister paid tributes to the labourers who laid down their lives in Chicago in 1886 and said more welfare steps for workers were in the pipeline.

Labour and Manpower Secretary Malik Asif Hayat and Workers’ Welfare Fund Secretary Saeed Ahmad Khan were also present on the occasion.

According to the welfare package, the amount of injury/death and marriage grants have been increased from Rs150,000 to Rs200,000 and from Rs30,000 to Rs50,000, respectively. Two kinds of grants are available to workers: the first for wedding expenses of daughters and the second for those who suffer death or permanent injury during work.

The minister said that in the past workers could claim such a grant for only two of their daughters but now the facility would be extended to all the daughters of a worker.

Mr Sarwar said that a six-member committee had been formed to bring improvements in the Ordinance 2002 (IRO-2002) which was passed by the government. He said IRO-2005 had been framed after making amendments in the IRO-2002. The amendment bill was sent to the cabinet which formed a committee comprising federal minister for commerce, federal minister for industries and production, minister for textile, minister for petroleum, minister for ports and shipping and advisor to the prime minister on finance and revenue. Mr Sarwar is chairman of the committee.

In response to a question about the future of labourers who gather daily at different places to find work for the day, he said that in some countries there was a social security system according to which each and every person was entitled to free availability of basic needs, but Pakistan had not yet reached that level.

“We don’t even have a tax-payment culture. Nevertheless, a new programme will be launched according to which technical training will be imparted to the youth. Once the youth complete their courses they will be provided jobs. For those unable to get jobs, an honorarium of about Rs5,000 per month will be granted,” he added.

Apart from this, the scholarship programme for the children of workers has also been expanded. It has been decided to enhance monthly scholarship to Rs1,600 from the previous Rs1,300 for intermediate level students (boarders), Rs1,000 from Rs800 (for day scholars). Scholarships for bachelor level have been raised to Rs2,300 from Rs1,800 for boarders and Rs1,400 from Rs1,150 for non-boarders.