he February general elections in Pakistan have stirred little enthusiasm among the working class. This is partly due to the great uncertainty that surrounds the prospect of elections going ahead. Many working people still believe that the elections might be postponed. However, there are also those who are confident that elections will proceed and are trying to voice their demands for labour welfare.

The harsh political reality is the widespread apathy among the working class. Most of the workers have lost hope that any of the mainstream parties will make or implement policies that their favour workers.

From years of organising in working-class areas, it is evident that most working-class people perceive all mainstream political parties as the same.

Having experienced betrayal on multiple occasions, they expect their life and misery to remain unchanged after the elections.

The context is important. Labour laws are not implemented in many parts of Pakistan. Many factories have turned into virtual slave camps as Labour Department officials rarely entertheir premises.

It is alleged that the officials only show up to collect bribes in lieu of not making the mandated inspections. The most violated labour law is the non-implementation of the minimum wage — Rs 32,000 per month, for a 44-hour week — particularly in Lahore and Karachi.

This time around, most political parties have made no significant promises to the working class. Not so far at least. The only exception is Bilawal Bhutto who, on December 27, speaking at Garhi Khuda Bukhsh on the 16^th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, announced: “It is in our plan to double the salaries in five years.” However, the pledge applies only to government employees and it is not clear whether the promised raise will be sufficient to keep up with the rising prices.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has yet to announce its manifesto, and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf is on the run.

The manifestos of most political parties have not addressed the demand by most trade unions that the minimum wage be raised to Rs 50,000 per month. Hardly any politician has addressed labour issues such as improved occupational health and safety measures, increased pension funds, crackdown on bonded and child labour, labour rights for informal workers and the issuance of social security cards to all workers, including home-based women workers. The likely winners of the general elections appear to be more interested in privatisation and implementing a neoliberal agenda: in effect, more job losses, increased inequality, and a wider gap between the rich and the poor.

The most violated labour law is the non-implementation of the minimum wage — Rs 32,000 per month, for a 44-hour week — particularly in Lahore and Karachi. — Photo: Web

They aim to ensure that there is a stable government to continue the “economic reforms,” including the transfer of land, industry, and state-run institutions to private exploitation. The transfer of state land to corporations will significantly impact the agriculture sector in Pakistan. Peasants are excluded from the labour law protections.

A vast majority of the workers and peasants affected by the 2022 floods and rains have not been compensated and no political party is promising them anything. With only a month left until the polling, only one mainstream party, the PPP, has announced its manifesto. Even that does not mention that over the last four years 20 million “new poor” have been added. The leaders of major political parties have been more interested instead in engaging with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry than consulting trade unions on labour rights. Since 2009, there has been no tripartite labour conference. Only four such conferences have been held since 1970 (in 1980, 1988, 2001, and 2009).

Consultation with workers’ representatives has, thus, become a rare occurrence.

Despite the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), offering developing countries like Pakistan incentives for sustainable development and good governance, industrial growth has seen a negative trend. In October 2023, Pakistan’s industrial production fell by 4.1 percent. This is due to the negative attitudes towards trade unions.

The situation can only change with a shift in the attitudes of political parties towards the working class. Most of the politicians still come from the industrial and feudal class and prioritise their interests at the expense of the working people.

When there is an industrial decline, its first victims are the workers who lose their jobs and rights. It seems unlikely that this will change as a result of the general elections, as there is no working class-based party contesting the election on a large enough number of seats. Haqooq-i-Khalq Party has a great manifesto but is contesting only a few seats.

Even if all its candidates are elected, it will be a challenging task to change the attitudes of the larger political parties towards labour issues such as ending unemployment, raising the minimum wage, implementing better health and safety measures, eradicating bonded and child labour and securing labour rights for informal and agriculture workers.

The writer, a veteran activist and political leader, is the president of the Haqooq-i-Khalq Party. He can be reached at farooqtariq @hotmail.com