LAHORE - Punjab Labour Minister Ansar Majeed Khan chaired first meeting of the governing body of Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) after its reconstitution. 

Minister welcomed 6 newly appointed non-official members of the body. Secretary Labour Ahmad Javed Qazi, Commissioner PESSI Tanveer Iqbal, Vice-Commissioner PESSI Hamid Mehmood, DG Labour Faisal Nisar and other members attended the meeting. Six agenda items were discussed in the 148th meeting of the governing body. 

The Governing Body (GB) on the recommendation of the Commissioner PESSI enhanced the amount of funeral grant from five thousand to ten thousand. The Governing Body also approved to provide relief to factories and establishments in the collection of social security contribution during lockdown due to Covid-19. 

A committee headed by Vice-Commissioner PESSI would analyize the application from employers for relief due to Covid-19. 

GB also confirmed the decision of 147th meeting of the governing body in its current session. Commissioner PESSI briefed the participants about the working of PESSI. Talking to media after the meeting, the Minister for Labour said that PESSI provides the health facilities to the largest number of people after health department in Punjab. Our 22 hospitals, 250 medical centres and dispensaries are providing health facilities to more than 7 million people including workers and their dependents. 

We are heading towards corruption-free Pakistan and to ensure transparency in every project, automation and computerization is necessary. To enhance the capacity of the department and to curtail the corruption, we are shifting the working of the department on automation.  

Less human interference will make the working fast and transparent, he added. 

Minister said that from the next month the department would provide E-cards to registered workers instead of  R-5 cards. 

Through E-cards all the data of registered workers and their dependents would be available online in all PESSI hospitals and medical centres so, there would be no need of verification from PESSI head office on every stage.  Governing Body also allowed the implementation of Hospital Management and Information Systems (HMIS) in all hospitals and medical centres. 

Minister said that this HMIS would keep the record of medicine and medical history of the patient. 

In case of referral to another social security hospital the doctors can easily access the medical history, reports and other record of the patient through online portal. 

Minister said that the provision of health facility to retired workers is under consideration. 

Health cards would be provided to retired workers by the Health Department, he added. The Minister said that PESSI is establishing a cardiac centre in Khawaja Fareed Social Security Hospital Multan with the estimated cost of Rs41 million, whereas Rs30 million would be spent for the up-gradation of medical wards in SSH Lahore. We are the custodians of this money, it is our duty to spend it wisely and for the betterment of the Labour, the minister added. Secretary Labour said in his concluding remarks that the prime responsibility of this GB is to protect the rights of labour. We are trying to establish a proper system for smooth working.