Labour secretary makes surprise visit to Hub Social Security Hospital

HUB: Labour and Welfare Secretary Saleh Muhammad Baloch paid a surprise visit to the Social Security Hospital in Hub with Commissioner Imran Ibrahim Bangulzai. He reviewed the hospital’s problems and issued immediate orders to address complaints. During the visit, Imran Ibrahim Bangulzai, Commissioner of the Balochistan Employees Social Security Institution (BESSI), briefed him on the problems facing the hospital.

The labour secretary also gathered information from patients about the hospital’s administrative affairs, the medical facilities provided to workers and the problems they face. He held a detailed meeting with the medical superintendent of the Social Security Hospital and representatives of the labour union and the governing body. The meeting discussed the hospital’s affairs and the difficulties faced by workers at length.

Labour union demands

Representatives of the labour union told the labour secretary that at least two members of the governing body should belong to Hub district, to represent the 14,000 registered labourers, so that workers benefit from government policy. A member of the governing body said that workers’ death grant cases had been lying in the files of the Secretary of the Workers Welfare Board for a long time and needed action.

Issuing immediate orders, the secretary said there would be no compromise on workers’ rights. He said the policy of the Chief Minister Balochistan on the death grant, the Hajj quota and Scholarship was clear. He said the working labourers of Hub would not be let down, their genuine complaints would be addressed, and the labour union’s proposals on the hospital’s administrative matters would also be considered.

Social Security Commissioner Imran Ibrahim Bangulzai briefed the secretary, in the presence of labour union representatives, on matters such as the treatment of workers and the transfer of patients in need to Karachi through a panel.

Proposal to hand hospital to Indus Hospital under consideration

The labour secretary said the basic purpose of the Social Security Hospital was to provide timely and quality medical facilities to registered workers and their families. He said the hospital’s administrative problems should be resolved seriously rather than treated as minor matters. He announced that a proposal to hand the hospital over to Indus Hospital under a public-private partnership was under consideration. However, he said, immediate steps were being taken to modernise the hospital under the supervision of the Health Department, and facilities would improve within the next three months.

The secretary also ordered that charge of the hospital’s medicine store be handed over to a senior pharmacist immediately.

Photo: courtesy DGPR Balochistan