Karachi,
July 15, 2019 (PPI-OT): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that
the provincial government in collaboration with UNICEF was conducting a survey
to ascertain the number of children engaged in [child] labour so that they
could be provided education and skilled trainings for their formal employment
when they attain appropriate age.
This he
said while talking to a four-member Japanese delegation led by MD Association
for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) Mr Joji
Tateishi. The other members of the delegation include Prof. Dr Mr Hiroyuki
Fujimura of Hosei University Tokyo and Mr Eiji Teshima, Mr Mahito Yoshimura.
The meeting was also attended by a delegation of Employers Federation of
Pakistan (EFP) Presidents Majeed Aziz, Zaki Khan, Feroze Alam, Ismail Sattar,
Syed nazar Ali, Fasihul Karim, Rabiya Anwar and Shumail Rizvi. The chief
minister was assisted by Minister Labour Murtaza Baloch, Secretary Investment
Ahsan Mangi, Secretary Labour Rasheed Solangi and Commissioner SESSI Kashif
Gulzar.
The
chief minister said that Sindh Factories Act, 2015 prohibited working of child
below the age of 14 years to work in a factory. He added that Sindh Child
Labour Survey in collaboration with UNICEF was being conducted throughout Sindh
for which his government allocated Rs96 million. ”Once survey is completed the
government would be able to provide technical education to the children so that
they can seek employment in industrial sector,” he said.
Secretary
Labour Rasheed Solangi assured the chief minister the survey would be completed
by the end of December 2019. He added that in order to implement Minimum Wage
and eradicate child labour as Minister’s Task Force headed by Director Labour
along with prominent labour leaders and representatives from Employers
Federation of Pakistan and Chambers has been constituted a notified.
He chief
minister said that District Jamshoro has been declared as `Child Labour Free’
district and his government was working to make others district free from the menace
in phases. He added that minimum wage has been fixed at Rs16,200 for unskilled
workers and during current financial year his government has fixed minimum wage
at Rs17,500.
The
chief minister urged the visiting AOTS Japanese delegation to start technical
training/basic education for the children involved in child labour so that they
could be made skilled workers. The AOTS delegation and EFP Chief Majeed Aziz
assured the chief minister of designing job-oriented technical training courses
for children and other youth so that they could be adjusted in the industries.
Mr Shah
said that the children engaged in labour must be given basic education along
with technical education before their induction in the workforce. “We are
committed to eradicate child labour and would offer them [children] some
stipend during their education and technical programmes just to encourage them
and then utilize their services in the industrial sector,” he said.
The
chief minister also offered investment opportunities to the visiting
delegation. He said that Dhabeji Special Economic Zone being developed by the
provincial government has a great potential for investors, He invited the
delegation to invest there. Secretary Investment Ahsan Mangi briefed the
delegation about the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone and invited them to visit
the area and support the development of the zone.
Minister
labour Murtaza Baloch also briefed the delegation about the measures taken by
his department for welfare of the labourers. He told them about health
facilities, schools and residential colonies established by the labour department.
The delegation assured the chief minister that they would start working on
training programme and bring investors to invest in Sindh.
For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Chief Minister House, Sindh
Tel: +92-21-99202019(Ext: 336)
Website: www.cmsindh.gov.pk