Punjab Minister for Labour Qasim Noon has said that brick kilns bonded labour is being turned into secured labour through their registration as industrial labour and now they have got the computerised National Identity cards. Similarly, he said, child labour was eliminated in sports goods industry of Sialkot.
Talking to newsmen at Multan Press Club programme 'Guftago' on Friday, chaired by Shakil Anjum, the Minister said that the present regime wanted to make journalists 'secured workers' so that they could be facilitated, but employers are main hurdle in this way.
He said that 3,500 beds were being added in the social security hospitals in Punjab and a 50-bed hospitals are being constructed in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur, Jhang, Jalalpur Pirwala and Bahawalnagar and a 150-bed hospital in Muzaffargarh. He said that Labour Complexes are bring set up in all major cities like Multan, in which a Labour hall, Labour colony, School, and Hospital would be provided.
Qasim said: "We have increased the wages of skilled labour by 33 percent and unskilled workers wages have been increased to Rs 4600 per month, and I personally visited the Chambers of Commerce & industry to convince the mill-owners to pay the minimum wages fixed by the Government."
The minister said that the present era is of performance based politics. Now people are demanding gas, electricity, roads, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. He said: "We will get General Pervez Musharraf elected as President of Pakistan in uniform because it is the demand of the environment, internal and external threats." He said that Muslim Leaguers are "political soldiers" of General Pervez Musharraf and they would continue to strengthen his hands. He said that it was the first Parliament and provincial assemblies which were completing their constitutional tenure--after 30 years-and had strengthened democracy and the institutions.