LAHORE, April 26: The Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) has urged the government to plan a large number of vocational training institutions and generation of low-cost electricity for the development of industry and agriculture to solve the problems of unemployment and poverty.

Voicing the demand in a meeting here, federation secretary-general Khurshid Ahmed said meaningful vocational training of workers had helped China, Korea, Singapore and Japan join the ranks of developing countries despite paucity of material resources. Pakistan could also develop its human resource for progress.

The labour laws should be brought in conformity with ILO conventions and steps should be taken to check the practice of making the employees work for 10 to 12 hours a day without payment of over time due to suspension of labour inspections by the previous regime.

He said the government should not only provide vocational training to workers but also promote cordial industrial relations between the workers and employers to facilitate increase in industrial production.

Import of luxury goods should be banned to control the trade deficit, which had increased from $1 billion to $15 billion, and efforts should be made to produce quality goods at competitive prices for export.

He also stressed the need for review of the privatisation policy and imposing a ban on sell-off of public utility services. Increase in sufferings of people due to unprecedented

loadshedding following the KESC sell-off was enough to demonstrate the risks involved in privatisation of utility services.