KARACHI, July 13: Pakistan’s 50 million labour force is yet to see an improvement in their quality of life, working conditions and wages despite an annual growth rate of seven per cent in the last four years.

Similarly, bulging foreign exchange reserves of $14 billion, impressive revenue collection of almost Rs840 billion in 2006-07 and expansion of public sector development programme to more than Rs500 billion have failed to bring about any improvement in the working conditions for labourers.

“Improved quality of life and better terms and conditions at workplace — as measured through increase in real wages, healthy work environment, more free time and better social security — remain an elusive dream for the majority of workforce in Pakistan,’’ reveals an indepth study on “denial and discrimination: labour rights in Pakistan,’’ of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education (PILER) launched formally on Friday at the Karachi Press Club with a former judge, Mr Justice Rasheed Rizvi in the chair.

The PILER investigated in 2005 five readymade garment factories in Karachi that were catering to export orders to international companies.

The study showed that 95 per cent of workers are not given even appointment letters and all the workers are on contract basis.

Unionisation of workers is despised and looked down and workers were found ignorant of the companies’ code of conduct. The auditors were found to be more concerned with physical infrastructure for the workplace rather than wags, social security, the rights to unionise and collective bargaining of the workers.

“Export of readymade garments and knitwear has exceeded $2 billion (Rs120 billion) a year mark and yet there are complaints of low productivity of labour,’’ Junaid Iqbal, a supervisor in a garment company in Karachi said.

According to Junaid, the company employs a large number of lady workers who work for 12 hours in a day on piece basis. Their daily wages are subject to cut because of a wrong stitch or some other flaw in the design. But after detection of these flaws in the garment and a cut in wages of the lady worker, the errors are rectified and the piece is included in the delivery of export order.

According to a study, Pakistan’s labour policies in 1955, 1959, 1969 and 1972 did not take shape of a pro-labour legislation that have provided protection and safeguards to the working class.

The 1969 Industrial relations Ordinance 1969 was substituted with a more restrictive Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002.. The much delayed and weak Labour Policy 2002 does not even acknowledge the right of association for all workers and neither envisions extending basic rights to workers in agriculture and informal sectors.

The changes brought in various labour related laws through Finance Act 2006 have given legal coverage to certain exploitative working conditions prevalent in many working places. For example, it legalised the long working hours, late working hours, no compulsory weekly holidays and no entitlement of overtime to contract labours.

Women are now being made to sit late hours after sunset although under Factory Act 1934, there was a clear restriction to call women at factory before sunrise and after sunset.

In 2005, the federal labour and manpower minister had announced that the Cabinet had approved amendments in many labour-related laws which will be presented before parliament for discussion and debate.

The changes were proposed in West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance 1968, Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923, Factories Act 1934 and the West Pakistan Establishments and Shops Ordinance 1969.

These draft amendments were never presented before the parliament and instead the government adopted a non- conventional and a novel considered to be unconstitutional way.

Avoiding a tripartite consultation and labour laws focus debate, the government amended seven labour laws through the Finance Act bill 2006.

Under the concept of flexible timings, the amendments in the Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969 has allowed spread over period of daily work, inclusive the rest interval and meals to 12 hours.

The compulsory closed weekly holidays has been replaced with one day in each week. The provisions under sections 38 and 45 of the Factories Act 1934 that restricted women to work before sunrise and after sunset was scrapped. Instead, women are permitted to work till 10pm.

The category of `contract worker’ has been added for the first time under the Industrial and Commercial Establishments (Standing Orders) Ordinance 1968, but without entitlement to compensation for overtime, through the amendment in 1960 Ordinance. In addition, the ceiling for overtime has been increased from 150 hours to 624 hours a year for adults and from 100 to 468 hours for juveniles.

“In Pakistan, law-making for social justice has never been the priority of the august bodies,’’ the report observes to inform that there are only 216 legislative policies on labour, social security and related human rights legislation as compared to 3,915 in France and 1,541 in US.