Call to increase minimum wage, protect labour rights

Labour Day 

LAHORE

Labour Day was marked across the country, including the provincial metropolis, on Sunday, with the rallies staged by trade unions and labour welfare organisations, demanding increase in minimum wage, regularisation of contract workers and measures to protect workers from hazards at workplace. 

The All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelectric Workers Union staged a protest on The Mall. The labour leaders condemned any possible plans to privatise national public utilities and demanded the government pay attention to the deaths of countless electricity line workers on duty past year. The leaders, including General Secretary Khurshid Ahmed and Shaukat Niazi, said the federal and provincial governments had always been complacent in these matters.

Meanwhile, hundreds of laborers, including women workers, participated in trade unions’ seminar at Hamdard Centre and later gathered at Jilani Park on Jail Road from where they took out a procession till Shadman Chowk to mark the May Day.All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF), Working Women Organisation (WWO), Hamdard Employees’ Union, Shaheen Workers’ Union, Pakistan Labour Wing Union, Shaheen Employees Union, Railways Workers’ Union and other trade unions jointly organised the events to pay tributes to Chicago labourers who sacrificed their lives for the protection of workers’ rights around the world. The rally was led by PTUF General Secretary Aima Mahmood, Federation President Fazal Wahid, union leaders Nasir Mahmood, Munir Dogar, Salma Liaqat, Bushra Tabbasum, Nasim Anwar, Safia Bibi and others.

Holding placards and banners inscribed with anti-capitalism, anti-feudalism and anti-privatization slogans, home-based female workers, agriculture and factory workers and labourers of other sectors participated in the seminar and rally. 

They chanted slogans against contract system in factories, banks, private and semi-government institutions and other sectors and demanded of the government to ensure direct and permanent employment system. 

Aima Mahmood, addressing the workers, said that 70 percent of labourers in Pakistan worked in absence of labor laws. She said they got very low salaries, their children and families were without basic health and education facilities, but the government failed to introduce reforms in labor sector.  

She said that child labor could not be eliminated in the country and 3.8 million children work alone in agriculture sector. Highlighting the plight of women workers in different sectors, she said: “Women workers get lower salary despite equal labor along with their men colleagues. Their work environment is unsafe. They are deprived of basic facilities of social security and old age benefit,” she said. 

Aima demanded 33 percent representation of women workers in trade unions and also demanded of the world organisations, government and trade unions to play their role in protection of women workers. She also spoke for the rights of home-based workers who were the most neglected class. She said unity among labor unions was the need of the hour to protect the rights of workers.

Labour leader Sultan Khan said the trade unions were losing their role in protection of workers due to non-implementation of government policies and labor laws. He asked the government to call national conference of trade unions and employers to ensure implementation of labor laws in the country. 

Fazal Wahid asked the government to end privatisation policy. He demanded of the government to announce national labor policy.  

Meanwhile, the rally staged by the Wapda Workers Union was also attended by workers from Quetta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahimyar Khan, Multan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Mardan, and Peshawar. The unions which were present included All Pakistan Trade Unions Federation, National Trade Union Federation, All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA), Railways Workers Union (CBA), Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Union (CBA), Bata Mazdoor League, Irrigation Labour Federation, All Pakistan PWD Workers Union, All Pakistan Transport Workers Federation, National Bank of Pakistan Trade Unions Federation, and Bhatta Mazdoor Union. The workers carried banners and chanted slogans against the proposed privatisation of electricity and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the behest of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The rally was addressed by All Pakistan Wapda Workers Union General Secretary Khurshid Ahmed, Pakistan Workers Confederation President Rubina Jameel, Chairman Yousaf Baloch and other trade union representatives. 

Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed expressed great concern over the economic and social sufferings of the working class. He said the present system allowed the rich to be richer and the poor to be poorer. Instead of introducing the progressive economic reforms, he stated, the country had been mortgaged into the clutches of the IMF and World Bank while US 200 billion dollars of the capitalists and feudal lords, and some politicians were still deposited into the Swiss banks, while the overseas Pakistani workers were sending remittances of more than US 18 billion dollars to the national exchequer every year. 

He said that the Founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam and Dr Allama Iqbal had committed themselves to establishing an egalitarian society and Quaid-e-Azam himself declared that the national public utilities, including electricity, railways, oil, and gas, would be maintained in the public sector for the welfare of the citizens. He warned the government that the working class would not remain a silent spectator in the face of exploitation. The house by a resolution urged the government to introduce far-reaching economic, and social reforms and amend the outdated labour laws in conformity with the ILO conventions and hold a meaningful dialogue with the trade unions representatives, raise the minimum wages to at least Rs 20,000.

Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan also took out a procession of brick kiln workers rally from Lahore Press Club to Punjab Assembly Hall. The participants of the rally chanted slogans 'no more slavery', 'stop violence and end bonded labour.' They demanded social security, better minimum wages, better work, quality education, legal entitlements and fair implementation of labour laws. The rally was led by Mahar Safdar Ali, executive member of BLLF, Syeda Ayaz Hussain, executive member of BLLF, Muhammad Shahbaz, programme officer of BLLF, Naik Muhammad, executive member of BLLF, Dr Pervaiz John, human rights activist and other well renowned human right defenders.

Labour Day aims to pay tribute to workers’ sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world. Pakistan’s first labour policy was devised in 1972, in which May 1 was declared an official public holiday which also formulated the creation of the Social Security Network, Old Age Benefit Schemes and Workers Welfare Fund. Pakistan’s constitution also contains various provisions and articles about labour rights.  

The Factory Act of 1934 lays down that the prime responsibility of a factory owner is to ensure safety and health of workers. Public health officials are supposed to publish reports pertaining to this, and carry out inspections to ensure that the safety and health regulations are being followed. Additionally, Pakistan is a signatory to 38 International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions under which the state needs to ensure the inspection of its factories, however, no such inspections are carried out.

Cathedral Church Dean Priest Shahid Miraj paid rich tribute to Chicago labourers on Labour Day and said the dream of a prosperous Pakistan could not be realised without prosperity of its labourers. He lauded the services of Pakistani labourers and stressed the need to do work for their welfare.