LAHORE: Punjab’s social security administration has been directed to tighten its grip on the recovery of employer contributions and Workers Welfare Fund dues, with the provincial Commissioner instructing field officers to meet the recovery targets set for the new financial year “in every case.”
According to an official statement issued on Tuesday, a performance review meeting of the directorates was held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Punjab Social Security Zulfiqar Ali Kharal, in which field operations and recovery targets were examined in detail. Field directors from across the province joined the session online and briefed the chair on the performance of their respective jurisdictions. The DG Headquarters, Director Inspection, Director C&B and other officers also attended.
The statement said the meeting reviewed the overall position of social security contribution and Workers Welfare Fund recoveries, while the Commissioner was briefed on directorate-wise recovery targets and the future line of action.
Kharal directed that the recovery targets fixed for the new financial year must be achieved in every case, and that the monthly amounts payable by all industrial and commercial units be recovered on time. The instruction places the onus squarely on field formations, which handle assessment, inspection and collection from registered establishments across Punjab’s industrial belt.
The Commissioner Punjab Social Security said the recovery process against units delaying payment of their dues should be made faster and more effective. He added that field officers must make the monitoring process more effective, and ensure practical measures in line with the assigned targets along with continuous monitoring to improve recovery.
Delayed employer contributions are a recurring pressure point for social security systems, because collections directly underwrite the medical treatment, hospitalisation and cash benefits that registered workers and their dependants draw during illness, injury or maternity. A shortfall on the revenue side is felt almost immediately on the service delivery side.
In what may prove the most consequential instruction of the session, the Commissioner directed that the process of bringing unregistered workers into the social security scheme be advanced on a priority basis, and that an effective strategy be adopted to bring the maximum number of workers within the ambit of social security.
Expanding registration is widely regarded as the central challenge for social protection in Punjab, where a large share of the labour force works in informal or contract arrangements and remains outside the documented net. Every worker added to the rolls is a worker who gains access to institutional healthcare and statutory benefits, while the contribution base itself widens over time.
Concluding the review, Kharal said that in order to achieve the targets of the new financial year, all directorates should improve their performance with responsibility and teamwork.
The Commissioner’s office indicated that monitoring of directorate performance will continue, with field operations reviewed against the assigned benchmarks in the period ahead — a signal that recovery figures and registration numbers will remain the primary yardstick for evaluating field directors this year.
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