LAHORE - Prime minister and the provincial governments have been urged to raise the wages and pensions of the workers employed in the public sector including industries, commerce, banks and media. It was also demanded to the government to get arranged to provide basic needs of provision of housing to the workers by utilizing heavy financial resources worth Rs 1 trillion and seventy billions deposited since long in the kitty of Federal Finance Ministry under the provisions of Workers Welfare Ordinance 1971. It was also demanded to the provincial governments to get restored the free medical facilities to the industries and commercial workers and media after their superannuation under Social Security Employees Scheme Ordinance 1965.
These demands had been raised in a large meeting of the representatives and the workers of the affiliated trade unions at Lahore under the aegis of All Pakistan Workers Confederation. It was addressed by Khurshid Ahmed, general secretary of Confederation, along with Rubina Jamil, president, Yousaf Baloch, chairman, Akbar All Khan, addl general secretary, Osama Tariq, secretary, Niaz Khan and Rhushi Muhammad Khokhar and others. The house also urged the government to lift the ban upon the exercise of the fundamental trade union rights of more than half million workers engaged in banks, Open Line Railways and NADRA.