LAHORE: The government was making sincere efforts to provide due rights and facilities to the labourers, an official said.

Speaking at a consultative workshop on proposed amendments in the Punjab Social Security Act, provincial Minister for Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal said that there was a need to change five decades old act for the protection of rights of the labourers.

The Punjab Employees Social Security Institution arranged the event attended by Minister for Labour Ansar Majeed Khan Niazi, Ch Akhlaq, Special Assistant to CM on Investment Ahsan Baryar, Secretary Labour, Commissioner Punjab Employees Social Security Institution and representatives of chambers of commerce and industry.

Iqbal said that inspector-less regime has been introduced to minimise the complaints of harassment, adding that 65 institutions of the Labour Department were providing education facilities to children of labourers.

A voucher scheme would also be introduced for providing educational facilities, he said and urged the officials to compile data of labourers, as it would be helpful in formulating a policy and mechanism to facilitate them.