The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Punjab Labour Department on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mainstream gender issues into the provincial policies and programmes. The MoU was signed under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded ILO project ‘Promoting Gender Equality for Decent Employment’ in Pakistan.
At the occasion, ILO Country Director Francesco d’ Ovidio said, “The ILO believes that gender equality in the world of work is not only a matter of human rights but in fact it is a tool to ensure social justice for all and is instrumental in achieving economic growth and poverty reduction at the national level.” Punjab Labour Secretary Hassan Iqbal said, “Strengthening the department’s capacity and building its gender expertise is foremost in the agenda,” adding that, “Under this joint collaboration, the Labour Department has already initiated a comprehensive capacity building of its inspection machinery.” The labour secretary said that for the first time, a female labour inspector has been inducted in the labour inspection force.
