The Government of Sindh has developed a consensus for action plan to prevent Baldia Factory fire-like incidents in future.
Secretary Labour Arif Elahi announced that the labour department will launch the action plan by end of January 2013. The action plan will include various initiatives to be implemented for the improvement of labour inspection system, Occupational Safety and health, Work Insurance Schemes.
The objective of this consultation was to help promote safety and health at workplace with the technical support of ILO. Secretary Labour further said that his department will not tolerate any slackness in the enforcement of relevant labour laws. ILO Country Director Mr. Francesco d’Ovidio said that ILO will provide all technical facilities to the Sindh Labour department for development and implementation of Plan of Action to promote safety and health at workplace.
Zahoor Awan General Secretary Pakistan Workers Federation, while appreciating the efforts of the Sindh Labour Department and ILO, demanded that workers must be registered and should not be considered as machines or tools. Zaki Ahmed, Acting President of Employers Federation of Pakistan also suggested that employers should be made aware of safety related legislations and implication of non-compliance.
This workshop was jointly organized by Sindh Labour Department, ILO, EFP and PWF. More than 250 representatives of government, employers, workers, civil society, academic, International buyers, and Social Auditing Agencies participated in the day long technical deliberations.
The workshop recommended for government to consider extending Social Security coverage to the informal sector, government should ensure that employer register their work force under the social Security scheme; and harmonize social security schemes.
