LAHORE - Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the Restriction of Employment of Children Ordinance 2016 that declares child labour a heinous crime.

The ordinance will be imposed soon after the final approval of Punjab Governor within a few days.

A committee under Labour and Human Resource Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar and Chief Secretary was also constituted for elimination of child labour in workshops, hotels, restaurants and petrol pumps. An MoU signing ceremony was held here yesterday in connection with the orders of Chief Minister for skill training of identified child workers.

Raja Ashfaq Sarwar was the chief guest while Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) Chairman Faisal Ijaz Khan, Labour Secretary Nawazish Ali, other officials joined in.

The MoU was signed between the Labour Department and Vocational and Training Council (PVTC) for skill training of 69,000 children between the age of 14 and 18. These workers were identified in child labour survey conducted by BOS in 10 districts of the province.

The six month training will commence from August and will be imparted in three phases in all districts of the province.