950829

Cabinet body for

regulating

contract labour

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Cabinet Committee on Labour has recommended that the contract labour, both in public and private sectors, should be regulated or where necessary be abolished by enacting a separate law.

The law has since been drafted by the Federal Labour Ministry and approved by the Task Force on Labour.

The Committee after reviewing the recommendations of the Task Force on Labour suggested that the proposed law should provide for effective check on contractors and employers, registration of establishments employing contract labour, revocation of registration and effect of non-registrations etc.

According to information available to the Business Recorder in Lahore, on Monday from well-informed sources in Islamabad, the Committee also noted that multiplicity of labour laws had resulted in complexities at various levels.

After examining this question in the light of recommendations of the Task Force on Labour on the subject, the Cabinet Committee has recommended that the Law Commission of Pakistan, headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, may be directed to consolidate, simplify and recodify the labour laws into four categories of laws relating to industrial relations; to benefits, wages and welfare; to employment and working conditions, occupational safety and health and control of environmental pollution at work places, and; to human resource development.

While making reference to the Law Commission of Pakistan for consolidation and simplification of laws, the Committee opined, ir may also be requested to examine the ambiguities and flaws identified by the Task Force and suggest remedial measures.

The committee agreed with the recommendation of the Task Force on Labour that serving judges be appointed as Presiding Officer of Labour Courts and Labour Appellate Tribunals at one step higher in terms of pay scales alongwith fringe benefits and serving Sessions and District Judges be posted in the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) by elevating them to the bench of a High Court.

The Committee has further recommended that separate benches of NIRC may be established in NWFP and Balochistan.

The Committee also recommended that the definiations of terms "workman", "employer" and "wages" as proposed by the Labour Ministry may be approved for the sake of uniformity.

While reviewing the present provision regarding cases of unauthorised deductions from wages or delay in payment of wages, the Committee has recommended that there should be one authority under the Payment of Wage Act to hear such cases.

The scope of the law should be extended to shops and other establishments as well, it said.