Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Bill, 2010

Islamabad; December 6, 2010: President Asif Ali Zardari today accorded his assent by signing “Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Bill, 2010” into a law during a special ceremony held here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday.

 

The signing ceremony was attended among others by federal ministers, members of Parliament, federal Secretaries, representatives of reinstated employees and other officials.

 

Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Bill, 2010 was passed by National Assembly and the Senate on 7th October and 10th November respectively. It became a law today after the President formally gave his assent to it.

 

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the President said that he is pleased to have signed into law today the Sacked Employees Reinstatement Bill and congratulated all the workers who have thus been reinstated in their jobs through an Act of the Parliament. He also felicitated the Parliament for passing this law and also the Minister for Labor and Manpower and all those who made it possible.

 

According to prepared text of the speech, the President said that it is an auspicious day for all of us as today we have fulfilled yet another promise and commitment made by our Shaheed leader and the government with the workers .He said that Worker and labor is the back bone both of the economy of the country and the Pakistan Peoples Party, that is why from the days of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the PPP has kept the welfare of workers and labour uppermost in its mind.

 

He said that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had promised the sacked employees of different organizations that they will be reinstated into their jobs.

 

“The critics of the present government sometimes accuse it of not providing jobs to the people. Yes, the job market has shrunk due to world wide economic slow down and recession. But I ask the critics; is the reinstatement of thousands of sacked employees not giving them jobs?”, he said and added that he was very pleased to do it.

 

The President while commenting on various measures being undertaken by the government for economic revival said that the improvement of economic condition requires collective effort of all of us however he expressed the hope that policies adopted by the government will help improve economy and at the same time improve the condition of workers.

 

He said that election manifesto of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) aimed at the protection of Rights of workers and creation of maximum job opportunities for the people of Pakistan. Security of job is most significant motivating factor for employees who work hard for economic development and social progress of the country, he remarked.

 

“The Act signed today aims at providing relief to the politically victimized workers. It will benefit those appointed in a government department or in an autonomous body during the period from First November, 1993 to 30th November, 1996 and were dismissed during the period from the 1st November, 1996, to 12th October, 1999”.

 

The President reiterated that the PPP led government will continue to work for the welfare of the poor and the workers.

 

The President mentioned the various steps taken by the government for the welfare of the workers and said that through “Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme”, 12% stock shares will be offered to the workers of the public sector organizations adding that more than five lac employees of eighty (80) public organizations will benefit from it by becoming shareholders in their respective organizations.

 

“We believe in economic progress by giving incentives. The “Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme” is aimed at giving incentives to workers to work more and produce more. It is both a scheme to improve the worker welfare as well as the economy. It is aimed at making both the workers and employers as partners in the economic development of the country”.

 

The President said the government has also decided to distribute free of cost the state lands among the poor women in the command areas of the new dams that are being built in the country. These women will be provided easy credit to cultivate these lands, he said and expressed the hope that the initiative will bring the women of the country in the loop of development.

 

The Benazir Income Support Program is yet another initiative of the government to alleviate poverty and also to empower the women; the President said and added that we will continue our forward march.

 

The President said that the country was confronted with numerous challenges which can only be met with the collective efforts of all of us. He called upon all political forces and the people to join hands in meeting the challenges that lie ahead of us.