The finance department of the government of Sindh has rightly been enhancing the sum assured to all its employees under the group insurance scheme after a period of two or three years.
The government functionaries working within the framework of the government of Sindh are also bound to provide the benefit not only for their employees that die during their service period but also extend the group insurance coverage to five years after their retirement.
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation is one of the government functionaries working within the framework of instructions issued by the government of Sindh. KMC is one of the most important entities of Karachi as it ensures municipal services and keeps the infrastructure intact for about 30 million citizens. In doing so, KMC has to rely primarily on its infrastructure department – particularly during the spells of monsoon — where hundreds of sanitary workers and sweepers are employed in grade 1 to 4. The sanitary workers and sweepers rarely attain the age of superannuation i.e.60 years let alone getting the benefit of the group insurance scheme after five years from their retirement on enhanced rates as they are not physically strong to fight fatal diseases they often contract in the line of duty or due to debilitating poverty.
In the financial year of 2011-12, KMC settled 52 out of 176 claims of group insurance raised by families of sanitary workers/sweepers who lost their lives well before their age of retirement. The families that lost their bread-earners got the least possible rates of the group insurance scheme as their deceased belonged to lower grades. What injustice!
The services being performed by the sanitary workers and sweepers must be recognized and given special rates under the group insurance scheme, despite their low grades, as their mortality rate is higher than any other grade of government employees due to the high-risk nature of their work.
Given this sad state of affairs, I want to draw the attention of the policy makers in general and Sindh Chief Minister and Chief Secretary Sindh in particular to look into the matter and promote an atmosphere where merit of work and risk for life involved should be honored.
