Sindh Minister for Transport, Mass Transit, Labour, Human Resources and Information, Nasir Hussain Shah, has said that the government will raise voice at the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to resolve problems being aced by business community. Speaking during a meeting with the members of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), Shah assured that all funds for development of industrial areas would be released soon, as announced by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
"Legislation aimed at amending labour laws will take place soon. Sindh will be the first province of the country who will host tripartite conference of employers, employees and the government," he said. Nasir Shah said that KCR would be inaugurated soon, Yellow Line Bus service was delayed due to contractor but now World Bank and Asian Development Bank are also interested in this project.
He promised to set up fire stations in all industrial areas of Sindh. He said that he was ready to procure fire tenders from his department if the funds were not available at provincial level. On this occasion, SM Muneer said that due to delays in payments of the exporters refund, their condition is getting worse. He said that federal government vowed to pay the refunds many a times but has not yet kept its words.
He was of view that due to hue and cry on the so called "Panama Papers leaks" issue, real and core problems were being ignored. He said that they always advocated equal treatment of employers and employees. The KATI president Masood Naqi said that legislation regarding labour laws should remain top on the government's priority list.
"Due to mismanagement of transportation and absence of a centralized transportation plan, the workforce of industry and citizens are facing multiple problems," he said, calling for developing new and low-cost housing schemes for Korangi Industrial Area (KIA) because labour society established decades ago, was no more capacious enough .
Naqi said that fire eruption incidents are a core concern for them due to unavailability of firefighting infrastructure in Industrial areas. He urged that a fire station should be established in KIA with fire tenders and other facilities. He said that KATI was ready to support for their administration and maintenance.
Head of KATI's standing committee on Labour, SESSI, and EOBI Zahid Saeed said that employers, employees and government were on the same page after the tripartite consultation and agreed on a set of suggestions. He expressed hope that soon this would become part of legislation by provincial assembly. He said that many export-based sectors are facing issues that were raised by foreign buyers due to noncompliance of Labour Laws, so the process of legislation should be put on fast track.
Chairman and CEO KITE DMC said that although specified fund allocations for Industrial Areas of Karachi were suggested by KATI, the Korangi Industrial Area didn't get his due share in total released funds. He said they were preparing a summary of Rs 481m funds. Responding to the issues raised by KATI's office bearers, Nasir Hussain Shah said that due share of KIA would be allocated. He said that Sindh Government would take each and every step to facilitate business community of Karachi and rest of the province.
"PPP is a labour-centric party but we can also understand the problems of business community so all possible relief would be provided to both employers and employees on equal grounds," he said. The meeting was attended by Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, Gulzar Firoze, Tariq MaliK, Salman Aslam, Junaid Naqi and other incumbent and former office bearers of KATI and representatives of business community.