LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to draft a legislation for domestic staff to have a weekly holiday.
According to sources, domestic staff will be ensured protection after they would be brought under the ambit of labour laws.
The people working in houses will also be entitled to salaries along with weekly holidays one amendments are made to the present labour laws.
Pakistan has the third highest population of such labourers, behind India and China, according to the Global Slavery Index.
Campaigners estimate there are more than two million Pakistanis trapped in a vicious cycle of debt bondage to factory owners that continues for generations, a practice often referred to as modern slavery.
However, authorities concerned have been taking measures to eliminate the menace so that the oppressed can enjoy rights they are or should be entitled to.
In 2016, the Punjab government began a scheme under which, early 88,000 child brick kiln workers were selected for a stipend comprising an initial $20 per child, followed by a recurring monthly payment of $10.
The initative “lowered the opportunity cost of not sending children to school… and families were able to mobilise this stipend to pay their debts,” a former official of the provincial government had said.
