KARACHI - Sindh Assembly on Monday adopted Sindh Payment of Wages Bill, 2015 with majority votes, amidst, protest by the opposition, which raised anti-government slogans and tore copies of the bill.
Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro, mover of the bill, informed the House that the provincial government had prepared draft of the legislation after gaining autonomy under the 18th Constitutional Amendment to safeguard the socio-economic interests of labourers in the province. He kept on speaking on the objectives of the bill.
However, the House witnessed exchange of heated arguments between the opposition (MQM) and ruling party (PPP) when the minister read out amendment to Clause 18. In the meantime, PTI leader Samar Ali Khan said that he was not against the bill, but against the way specified for passing it.
The situation further aggravated when Khuhro said that the opposition did not know the meaning of provincial autonomy. He lamented that the opposition did not know anything about provincial autonomy, and said that it would not be receiving the blessings it was waiting for.
Opposition leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan replied that he had reservations over changes in the bill. He clarified that his party was not against the real spirit of the bill. “My party has always worked for the betterment of the province, and I am twice as much patriotic as anyone else,” he said categorically.
He suggested to the Sindh government that like it did in the past, it should write a letter to the federal government about legislation on the subject so that the labour inspector could not intervene in federal departments.
Sindh Minister Dr. Sikandar Mahendaro said that it was the responsibility of the Sindh government to protect the interests and rights of labourers, and it was not possible for it to ask the Centre every time about affairs of 37 provincial administrative departments.
Khuhro was of the view that the fact that the bill had remained blocked for 11 months indicated that the opposition had been waiting for someone’s blessings.
His words created uproar in the assembly and members of the opposition began raising anti-government slogans and tore copies of the bill.
Khuhro alleged that opposition did not like to pass pro-labour legislation and that was the reason it was raising hue and cry. Referring to PSP’s rally on Sunday, Khuhro said that its success had set off alarm bells ringing in MQM ranks.
“That’s why its members are creating a rumpus in the House,” he argued.
After this the house reverberated with slogans of “shame, shame, Goonda Gardi Naheen Challe Gi” and later
PML-N members also joined MQM legislators, which turned the house into a fish market. However, the minister continued reading the bill clause by clause, and later tabled it in the House.
After counting of hands, the chair informed that 46 members had favoured it while 36 had opposed it. It may be mentioned here that after the passage of bill, the collector authorities of commissioner would be withdrawn and instead a payment wage authority would be established with the power to decide and pay wages to labourers weekly.
The House, which was put in order by Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, was later adjourned till Tuesday morning after completion of business.