Lahore (News Reporter): President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, held a significant meeting with Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad, In-charge of the Peoples Labour Bureau and Member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The meeting focused on the challenges faced by workers and government employees in the context of the upcoming federal budget.

During the meeting, Chaudhry Manzoor proposed a minimum 50% increase in salaries of government employees. He also emphasized the merging of all ad-hoc relief allowances into basic pay and called for an end to pension-related reforms that are unfavorable to retirees.

He demanded that the minimum monthly wage for workers be fixed at Rs. 50,000 and that the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) pension be increased by 100%. Additionally, he urged that other welfare initiatives for workers and government employees be made part of the budget.

Chaudhry Manzoor stressed that the Workers Welfare and EOBI funds in Punjab should not be diverted to any other provincial development schemes. "These funds are the rightful property of the workers and their families," he stated.

President Asif Ali Zardari said that the government is expected to give top priority to the welfare of the working class in the upcoming budget. He added that societal progress is impossible without providing relief to laborers, and reaffirmed that the PPP has always taken practical steps to address the problems of the working class.

This important meeting comes at a time when the federal budget is in its final stages of preparation.