LAHORE, Aug 11: Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) Commissioner Syed Tahir Raza Naqvi has said measures are afoot to ensure private sector role in the management of all social security hospitals so that their working could be made more transparent and beneficial to the workers.

He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday. LCCI president Mian Shafqat Ali and others also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Naqvi said the Dispute Resolution Committees were being given more strength by incorporating necessary amendments in the existing laws and a summery had already been moved to the competent authority.

The commissioner also threw light on the ongoing projects being pursued by the institution. He told the participants that the Social Security Institution was now setting up hospitals in the remoter areas and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had given approval to enhance the PESSI hospitals’ capacity from 1,400 beds to 3,500 while work to upgrade 50 to 100-bed hospitals was also in progress.

The LCCI president said the chief minister’s announcement regarding drastic revision in the social security system indicated that the government was fully conscious of the need to make the system more business-friendly and less cumbersome.

He said the LCCI was not adequately represented on the governing body of the Punjab Employees Social Security Institutions. “We feel that representation to the chambers on the governing body of the PESSI should be given proportionate to their contribution towards the social security fund.”

The LCCI president also suggested that the social security hospitals should also have burn units and the number of ambulances should be increased.

LCCI senior vice-president Abdul Basit called for the improvement of all the social security hospitals. He urged the PESSI to build a hospital in Raiwind where a lot of industry had now been established.

He said the Children’s Hospital should also be brought in the net of social security net so the labour could get benefit of the facility.