Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a Rs. 1.2 trillion relief package on Tuesday that aims to provide financial support to different sectors of the country adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Soon afterward, the IT industry has asked the Prime Minister and the government to provide relief to the sector.
Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has asked the Prime Minister for economic relief via a tweet in order to avoid layoffs in the IT industry amidst the pandemic.
P@SHA appeals to the @pid_gov and the Honorable Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI for Economic Relief to avoid layoffs in the IT & ITES industry#COVID19 #COVID19Pakistan #AppealForRelief #SaveITIndustry #SaveExports #SaveJobs #DigitalPakistan #KnowledgeEconomy pic.twitter.com/Lv4l27SeB0
— P@SHA (@PASHAORG) March 24, 2020
The relief could prove to be of great benefit to all sectors across the country as the epidemic has caused a nationwide economic slowdown. Numerous organizations in different industries have been forced to either shut down completely, lay off employees, introduce pay cuts, or adjust their policies to allow for working remotely.
Much to the relief of employees, the Sindh government has recently barred employers from laying off workers during the lockdown and the economic relief from the Prime Minister comes at an opportune time as well.
Around 200 billion rupees out of the package have been allocated to the labor class including the industrial and export sector. 100 billion rupees have been set aside for the small and medium industry including the agriculture sector and other packages worth billions have been assigned to utility stores, wheat procurement, and emergency situations.
