Centre asked to defer ministry`s devolution

PESHAWAR, April 1: Provincial Minister for Labour Sher Azam Wazir has demanded of the federal government to defer transfer of the federal ministry of labour to the provinces for a period of three years to enable them to provide resources for the labour welfare projects on their own. Talking to media men here on Friday, he said the postponement of the transfer of the ministry to the provinces will help the families of labourers to have health, education and other amenities of life. In case of the immediate transfer of the ministry, he said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not be able to ensure timely payment of salaries to workers. He said that small provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were lacking resources to bear the expenses on pensions and provision of health and education facilities to workers, construction of labour colonies, social security and other development schemes worth billions of rupees. He said the devolution of the ministry to the provinces should be deferred till small and backward provinces were able to carry the labour welfare oriented schemes on their own. Mr Wazir said that the unity and force exhibited by the workers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had proved that they would not let usurpation of their rights in any circumstances. — APP