LAHORE, March 3: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has ordered decentralization of the workers’ welfare fund to the provinces.

This was stated by environment, local government, labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis Federal Minister Awais Ahmad Ghani in a meeting with Punjab labour and manpower minister Lt-Gen Muhammad Tariq (retired) here on Sunday.

Mr Ghani said a sum of Rs15 billion workers’ fund stuck with the federal ministry of finance for quite a long would be released to the provincial workers’ boards for completion of welfare-oriented projects like better education, housing and health facilities to the industrial workers and their dependents.

The collection would be handed over to the provincial governments on annual basis, he added.

Provincial minister apprised the federal minister of the new vision for reforming the labour department into a tool of developing human resource.

He said the children of the industrial workers, secured with the Punjab Employees’ Social Security Institution, would be imparted standard education under the cadet school system. The procedure for allotment of houses and flats to the deserving workers would also be streamlined, he concluded.—APP