Amendment proposed in Sindh Factories Act for 'women empowerment'

KARACHI: In the Sindh Assembly session on Monday the provincial excise and taxation minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla has proposed an amendment in Sindh Factories Act 2016 to empower working women and measures on child labor, ARY News reported.

Chawla of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) claimed with this amendment being tabled today the intent is to empower women so they can work with better timings, more rights and also do night shifts when they want.

Disputing this proposed amendment today, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P) lawmaker Muhammad Hussain said this will weaponize factory owners to keep women toiling for longer hours while as of now they cannot legally do it.

In response to Hussain’s dispute, another PPP lawmaker Shehla Raza chipped in saying earlier in the day factory laborers were burnt alive, evidently implying the Baldia factory fire case whose accusations were faced by MQM leaders.

This bill will not leave women hapless, she said in defense of the proposed amendment adding transportation will be made conditional for them.

We have kept international labor laws in consideration while chalking out this amendment, she added.

Separately today from Gwadar, while speaking to the Gwadar business community in his official visit, Prime Minister Imran Khan said if it wasn’t for his sincere intentions for Balochistan he would instead be spending summers in London and shopping from Harrods since he did not win elections here.

Moving on with his Gwadar address, he said he was, in fact, thinking of resolving issues with Baloch insurgents by talking to them since there are possibilities of past injustices they were the victims of.