KARACHI: Criticising the federal government for usurping the rights of the provinces, Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani said on Sunday that the Workers Welfare Fund and Employees Old-age Benefits Institutions (EOBI) were a provincial matter under the 18th Amendment but the Centre did not want to give shares and assets to the provinces.

Speaking at a press conference here, Mr Ghani said that the Sindh government rejected what he called the “illegal and unconstitutional seizure of the EOBI and Workers Welfare Funds” by the federal government.

He said that an unelected special assistant having a dual citizenship could not deprive the provinces of their powers.

He said after the 18th Amendment, many federal departments had been transferred from the federation to the provinces after which the provincial assemblies made laws.

Mr Ghani, who also holds the portfolio of education, said the Sindh Assembly made 16 laws relating to labour. What is the fault of Sindh and Punjab if Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan did not make their own labour-related laws, he asked.

He said that the federal government had written a letter to an audit firm in an unconstitutional and illegal manner that it would manage the Workers Welfare Fund and EOBI.

‘Sindh, Punjab to move court over federal govt’s wrong report presented to CCI’

He said when the issue was raised in a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), a committee was formed under the chairmanship of Federal Minister Dr Fehmida Mirza. He said the Sindh chief minister had sent him to plead the case of the province.

Mr Ghani recalled that Punjab and Balochistan also supported the stance taken by Sindh in the meeting and at that time the federation also acknowledged the claim of Rs124 billion, out of total Rs172bn, of the Workers Welfare Funds.

However, he said, a totally opposite report was presented to the CCI upon which both Sindh and Punjab exercised their constitutional right to say that these minutes were wrong and now “we are going to challenge it in court as well”.

He said the CCI was of course a constitutional body, but it did not have the power to overturn any law made by a provincial assembly or reject a high court decision.

In response to a question about the closure of educational institutions and online education due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Ghani said that there was no substitute for children studying in a classroom. “We had no idea that there would be such a situation. Online education was started under duress. In many areas there is no internet. We have continued our efforts to educate children with the help of online classes, TV channels and FM radio, yet we have not reached out 100 per cent students.”

When asked about PPP’s participation in the upcoming by-elections when it had announced from the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement to tender resignations, he said: “By-elections are a constitutional requirement that should happen. In my opinion, we should participate in by-elections to tell the world that the masses no longer like PTI.”

However, he said that it was decided by the PDM that MPAs from all political parties should submit their resignations to their respective party leadership. “We have submitted our resignations to our leadership.”

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2020