National Assembly body seeks insurance of mine workers

The Sub-Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Labour and Manpower on Wednesday emphasised the need to ensure life insurance of workers of mines of coal and minerals. A meeting of the Sub-Committee held in Quetta with the Chairman Malik Numan Ahmed. It was also attended by the Member Engineer Muhammad Tariq Khatak, the Deputy Secretary of the Committee M A Soomro, Secretary Labour, Government of Balochistan Haider Shikwa and other officials.
The Chairman contended that although registration process of mines workers was accordingly law but it did not meet all requirements of welfare of workers. He underlined the need that according to law, relevant authorities and departments should make mines owners and contractors bound to ensure insurance of the workers.
The committee stressed the need that stern action should be taken against mines owners and contractors who avoid get insurance of workers working at the mines allotted to them. The committee added that insurance of mines workers should be compulsory part of workers welfare programmes.
Afzal, Deputy Director of Labour Department informed the committee that completed projects of housing sectors by the Labor Department include 313 houses labour colony Nawaan Killi Quetta, 399 houses labour colony Eastern Bypass Quetta, 82 houses labour colony Khuzdar, 12 houses labour colony Harnai, 15 houses labour colony Shahrig, 66 houses labour colony Loralai, 100 houses labour colony Gwadar and 400 houses labour colony Hub.
Responding to a question raised by the committee, Afzal said that although over 100 rice mills had been functioning in Naseerabad division providing employment to thousands of labourers, adding but no labour colony was constructed in the area. The committee decided to recommend construction of labour colony in Naseerabad. The chairman said the federal government has adopted uniformed policy of new labour colonies containing flats instead residential quarters.
Responding to him, the Labour Department officials contended that flat system labour colony was against temperament of people of Balochistan. They said that free of cost land for construction of labour colonies in Balochistan was available at a large scale, adding therefore, there is no need to construct new labour colonies following flat system or residential plaza.
A point of view was also raised that many cities of Balochistan are located on fault line and in past, Quetta city had been completely devastated by earthquake of 1935, therefore, new labour colonies should be constructed as per residential quarters instead flat and residential plaza. The meeting lasted for some times. Later, the Sub-Committee inspected Labour Colonies of Eastern Bypass and Nawaan Killi in Quetta city. The Sub-Committee will also hold its meeting on Thursday.