'No time to play petty politics': Punjab governor urges parties to come together against virus pandemic

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government is making an all-out effort to protect all segments of the society as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic, reported The News on Saturday.

Speaking to different delegations at the Governor House on Friday, Sarwar stressed that all political and religious parties should play their due role in handling the pandemic and the economic meltdown in the country.

“Masses should take precautionary measures to stay protected from the dreadful coronavirus,” he said, adding that the pandemic had caused severe economic crisis across the globe with some 12 million people losing their jobs in Pakistan alone.

He added that the federal and Punjab government were taking all possible measures to help them besides providing them ration.

Over a quarter of Pakistan's women workforce fired or suspended amid lockdown: report

'High time Pakistanis join hands'

“The war against coronavirus pandemic is not an issue of a person or a political party but the whole nation. So it is high time that all Pakistanis join hands and defeat the pandemic,” Sarwar said.

He added that this was not time of playing petty politics and that the political and religious parties should create awareness and educate masses about protective measures related to the coronavirus.

The Punjab governor added that he was in collaboration with Punjab Development Network, comprising of 60 welfare organisations, and was working to provide rations to some 500,000 poor families.

Over a quarter of Pakistan's women workforce fired or suspended amid lockdown: report

According to a survey of 904 respondents conducted by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) between April 15-30, 26% of the women workforce has either been terminated or suspended and of those, 14% lost their jobs permanently whereas 12% were temporarily laid off during the pandemic.

Of the women who were terminated, the largest proportion was of factory workers. Separately, 51% of the total respondents who were laid off said they were awaiting their dues to be cleared by their employers.

The survey results were released on Labour Day, with the FAFEN terming them "serious violations of the guidelines issued by the federal and provincial governments" to protect workers' rights amid the coronavirus lockdown.

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It included respondents from Faisalabad, Haripur, Lahore, Sialkot, Peshawar, Rahimyar Khan, Quetta, and Karachi, with their professions ranging from factory workers, salespersons, and employees of private schools, hospitals, and other commercial establishments. At least 7% were daily wagers, 85% paid monthly, and 8% on a weekly or bimonthly basis.

Of those who were let go by their employers, 78% were unaware if they had been registered with any social security organization. On the other hand, 13% noted that they were registered with Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and only 1% with Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

A mere 28% of the women workforce were able to apply for support under the PTI-government’s Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme.