Nominations of low-income employees sought under Hajj quota

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to facilitate the lower-grade workers, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony on Tuesday called for nominations of low-income employees under the Hajj Labour Quota for the year 2025.

A total of 300 seats have been reserved in the Hajj Policy 2025 for the labour quota, which will be allocated to public and corporate sector employees in grades equivalent to Scale 1 to 9, including labourers, industrial workers, and miners, according to the ministry’s spokesperson Muhammad Umar Butt.

The spokesperson said the Hajj expenses of low-income employees selected under the labour quota will be borne by their respective organisations as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Butt said it is mandatory for corporate entities to be registered with the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) to qualify for participation in this program.

He said the ministry has directed interested organisations to submit nominations to the WWF on the prescribed forms by January 15, 2025. In a separate notice, Umar said federal and provincial ministries have been instructed to forward nominations from their affiliated corporations and institutions through their respective ministries to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony by the same deadline.

The spokesperson further mentioned that if the number of applications exceeds the allocated 300 seats, a ballot will be conducted to determine the successful candidates.