The Commissioner of the Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI), Dr. Syed Bilal Haider, announced that it will deliver health cards to 300,000 laborers on their doorsteps.
Dr. Haider met with the representatives of the All Rawalpindi Restaurant Association (ARRA) and apprised them that the laborers registered with the PESSI would be provided health cards once their credentials were verified by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
The General Secretary ARRA, Chaudhry Mohammad Farooq, had raised the issue of health cards with the commissioner and had written a letter to the PESSI about its “discriminatory policy towards restaurant employees”.
ALSO READ
Asad Umar Directs CDA to Ensure Maximum Cooperation to RDA for Rawalpindi Ring Road Project
ARRA had claimed that although the restaurants had deposited monthly contributions to the PESSI “in lieu of social security benefits for the employees”, most of the contributions have not been used or have been under-utilized primarily due to the complex and time-consuming registration process. Often, the employees do not avail these benefits due to issues with the institutional staff or because of the complicated procedure.
ALSO READ
Survey Shows Improvement in Pakistan’s Consumer Confidence in Q4 2020
Furthermore, the ARRA said that even though Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a salary grant of two months to the registered employees of the PESSI, not a single rupee has been paid to them so far.
