Vice Chairman PTEA Muhammad Idrees highlights the core functions of the Association especially the efforts done to improve the application of International Labour Standards and ensure continuity of Pakistan’s exports to the global market.
He said that several programs have been initiated in collaboration with international institutions like ILO, GIZ & WWF. The major objective behind these programs was to improve the adherence to national laws and international labor and environmental standards in textile factories, develop buyers’ confidence that standards in these factories are being publicly monitored, reliably and accurately reported, and establish a coordination mechanism between textile Industries, related workers’ organizations, and Labour departments on ILS compliance and reporting.
The Secretary Labour & Human Resource Department Punjab Faisal Farid has said that an automated online system for approval of Social Security grants to industrial workers is being launched to save them from procedural delays. A burn center will also be established in Faisalabad during this month.
He was addressing a meeting at Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA). Director Labour (East) Rai Yaseen and Director Labour (West) Ghulam Shabir Kaliyar were also present at the meeting.
The Secretary Labour & Human Resource Department Punjab pledged to do whatever possible to safeguard the rights of industrial workers in the province. Following the vision, a transparent and automated system for expeditious approval of workers’ applications for PESSI grants has been established and is expected to be launched next week, he informed and added that to ensure transparency, several filters have been added in this system.
Furthermore, medical dispensaries at different industrial clusters of Faisalabad are being activated to provide better health facilities to the industrial workers nearby their workplaces. He informed me that a state-of-the-art burn center will also be operational in the coming month at Faisalabad. Answering the question about skill development, he emphasized that industries should collaborate in terms of technology integration and decide the set of skills they need to develop. Once such an exemplary framework is formed, the Government will be happy to provide technical and financial support in this regard.
He suggested the industries step towards self-assessment and sampling in respect of labor and social standards. He noted the critical role that the industrial sector played in the development of the economy and pledged to address the problems on a priority basis.
Representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and GIZ were also present in the meeting online and presented their presentations about their programs for the enhancement of labor and social standards in the textile industry. Later, PTEA insignia was presented to the Secretary Labour & Human Resource Department. A large number of textile exporters were present at the occasion.
PTEA making efforts to improve the application of International Labor Standards
