Lahore, June 18; PILDAT held a Briefing Session for the Honourable MPAs of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on Understanding Labour Issues in Punjab and the Way Forward. The Briefing Session was chaired by Honourable Provincial Minister for Labour & Human Resources, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, MPA (PP-1,Rawalpindi-I; PML-N). A presentation was given on the Briefing Paper titled �Employment and Labour Market Issues in Punjab: Current Situation and Way Forward� by Dr. Sabur Ghayur, Chairman, CLAD, who had also authored the Briefing Paper.

Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President, PILDAT, welcomed the MPAs who were present at the Briefing Session and shared the objectives.

Speaking at the Briefing Session, Dr. Sabur Ghayur highlighted the post 18th Amendment scenario in Pakistan regarding labour laws and issues and shed some light on the salient features of the Punjab Labour Policy Draft 2014. He stressed on the importance of Decent Work Agenda and that it was mandatory for Pakistan to follow it whilst complying with eight fundamental ILO conventions. Dr.Ghayur mentioned how there was a great mismatch between academic qualifications of people and their jobs for which it is crucial that employment is generated along with development of enterprises. He proposed directly to the Minister for Labour & Human Resources that an early approval of the Punjab Policy Draft 2014 was needed and proper mechanisms of its enforcement be devised.

A Q&A session was followed by the presentation after which Raja Ashfaq Sarwar gave his remarks regarding the quality of work that PILDAT continues to undertake and that some very important issues had been raised by Dr. Ghayur in his presentation. The Briefing Session once again proved to be a meaningful engagement of the relevant authorities, he said.

Honourable members who attended the briefing session included Mian Muhammad Rafique (PP-90, Toba TekSingh-VII; PMLN); Haji Imran Zafar (PP-111, Gujrat-IV; PMLN); Sardar Vickas Hassan Mokal (PP-180,Kasur-VI; PML); Ms. Naheed Naeem (W-359; PTI); Abdul Rauf Mughal (PP-94, Gujranwala-IV; PMLN); Ms. Saira Iftikhar (W-331; PMLN); Ms. Shamim Akhtar Alias Shahazadi Kabir (W-342; PMLN); Ms. Shah Jahan(W-307; PMLN); Dr. Alia Aftab (W-338; PMLN); Ch Muhammad Ashraf (PP-112, Gujrat-V; PMLN); Dr.Najma Afzal Khan (W-320; PMLN); Ms. Saadia SohailRana (W-355; PTI); Malik Taimoor Masood (PP-8, Rawalpindi-VIII; PTI); Ch. Muhammad Ashraf Warraich(PP-97, Gujranwala-VII; PMLN); Ms. Nasreen Jawaid Alias Nasreen Nawaz (W-301; PMLN); Ms. Azra Sabir Khan (W-330; PMLN); Ms. Nabela Hakim Ali Khan (W-358; PTI); Ramesh Singh Arora (NM-368; PMLN); Ms.Farzana Butt (W-310; PMLN); Ms. Salma Shaheen Butt (W-341; PMLN).

This Briefing Session was organized by PILDAT with the Support of the Solidarity Centre, Pakistan.