Human Resource Development Minister Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi admitted to lawmakers at the National Assembly that there is ‘no independent legislation on occupational safety and health issues in Pakistan.’ He added that two years ago the Supreme Court had directed that a draft bill be submitted to provincial and federal governments to evolve a consensus, but that the court did not give any deadline.

Industrial complex collapse

Mr Rashidi’s remarks came after months of criticism over the lack of a legal framework to provide safety to workers, in the wake of the collapse of an industrial complex in Lahore in November last year that killed 45 workers. Sources: The Express Tribune; The Asian Age