Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) has sought exemption from paying monetary contribution under section 9 of the Employee Old Age Benefits Act (EOB Act), 1976, that is mandatory for workers welfare, to boost the sector's performance.
M. Jawed Bilwani, Chief Coordinator, PHMA and Chairman of Pakistan Apparel Forum told fibre2fashion, “Under the provisions of the EOB Act, the employer is obliged to contribute five percent of the minimum wages for unskilled workers. This huge contribution to EOB and other factors such as frequent increase in the cost of energy, load shedding of gas and electricity, currency devaluation, rise in wages, etc have together increased the cost of doing business. As a result, our exporters are not in a position to compete with other countries.”
“Moreover, the export-oriented units in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) are exempted from EOBI and other local taxes and levies. So, we have demanded that manufacturing units that export more than 80 percent of their production, to be treated at par with the EPZ units,” he adds.
“We have written to the Federal Minister for Textile Industry to exempt knitted goods and apparel sector from payment of contribution under section 9 of the EOB Act, to provide relief to the export-oriented industry and to boost exports,” the PHMA Chief Coordinator reveals.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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