FAISALABAD, Oct 8: The Punjab government will restore the powers of the district government officers to inspect factories to ensure enforcement of labour laws and availability of safety measures, Dawn has learnt on Wednesday.

According to sources, industries secretary Tahir Hussain Naqvi revealed this in a meeting with labour leaders at the District Coordination Officer’s office here on Wednesday. The secretary also met with a group of industrialists separately at the same office.

During the meeting with

labour leaders, the secretary was informed that the workers had been protesting in the district for their basic rights.

These include issuance of social security cards and job cards, suitable raise in wages and grant of pension.

He was also informed that factory owners had been exploiting the poor employees and not granting them minimum Rs6,000 wages announced by the federal government.

According to sources, labour leaders Mian Qayyum and Aslam Miraj informed Naqvi that different teams had been formed to ensure enforcement of labour laws, but to no avail.

They said that because of the indifferent attitude of industrialists and government officials, workers had been forced to demonstrate.

They said that industrialists were using their ‘contacts’ to suppress the voices of workers as many of them had been booked in criminal cases at different police stations.

Factory owners were trying to punish employees for raising voice in favour of their legitimate rights, they added.

Naqvi, sources said, informed labour leaders that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had sent him to find out a solution to their problems.

The secretary said that the previous government had refrained the district officers for labour from conducting inspection of factories and sealing or imposing fine over any violation of labour and safety laws.

He said that the government would soon enable the labour officers to inspect any factory to ensure the enforcement of labour laws.

He said the government had been doing its utmost to resolve disputes between entrepreneurs and workers to strengthen the national economy.

Representing industrialists at the separate meeting, Waheed Khaliq, who is chairman of the Council of Loom Owners, informed the secretary that the workers had been taking the law into their hands and often resorted to thrashing industrialists, indicating how aggressive they were.

He said owing to some unscrupulous outsiders, aggression persisted among labourers and this was hampering business atmosphere of this textile capital of Pakistan.

He stressed the need for immediate relief package for factory owners in the wake of mounting business costs, inflated rates of utility bills and suspension of gas supply.

He said factory owners had been doing their level best to extend required facilities to labourers and ensure that they were granted their rights.

Sources said that the secretary ensured the business community that all proposals floated in the meeting would be brought into the notice of chief minister and also dispatched to departments concerned.