KARACHI, July 13: Trade union activists, labour leaders, jurists and journalists underlined the need for the provision of workers’ rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan. They were speaking at the launch of a report titled ‘Denial and Discrimination: Labour Rights in Pakistan,’ here on Friday.
The speakers included former judge of the Sindh High Court Rashid A. Rizvi, Karamat Ali of PILER, labour leader Nabi Ahmed, Karachi Press Club (KPC) Secretary Imtiaz Khan Faran and Zulfiqar Shah.
The function was organised by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), which published the report, in collaboration with the Karachi Press Club.
The report, which profiles the current status of labour in the country, is authored by Zeenat Hisam with contributions from Bushra Khanum, Maqsood Mirza, Mohammad Sadaqat, Muqqadam Khan, Zubeida Mustafa and Zulfiqar Shah.
It highlights the problems of the working class in Pakistan since independence and is apparently the first report of its kind in the country. The Urdu translation is due to be published soon for nationwide distribution.
‘Military rule destroyed social fabric’
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Rizvi underlined the need for the restoration of a civillian government in Pakistan.
He said the main problem of the country was that the social fabric had been destroyed by continuous military rule.
Mr Rizvi recalled that in 1971-72 there was some progress in labour legislation because of labour movements in East and West Pakistan during the 1960s.
Social security system needed
Karamat Ali, the Executive Director of PILER, said a social security system should be introduced in the country. He urged the state to provide an honorarium to unemployed people through a special fund.
He recalled that every government in the past, except for that of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, which provided some relief to labourers, had also curtailed their rights. He appealed to the courts to take notice of violations of labour rights. He said the report would be submitted to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court for conversion it into a constitutional petition.
Zeenat Hisam, the author, shared the process of the report’s compilation. According to her, the collection of data was a difficult task because the majority of workers belonged to the informal sector, where union formation was not allowed.
“Initially, we contacted the labour institutions of the government to share their data. Some officials of PILER also visited the government offices, but unfortunately we did not receive an encouraging response.”
Labour leader Nabi Ahmed appreciated the fact that the Constitution gave every person the right to form a union, but said people were not able to secure this right.
KUJ President Shamim-ur-Rahman said the owners of newspapers were exploiting the rights of workers, while KPC President Sabihuddin Ghausi said the transport workers were the worst affected section of the working class.
Labour leaders B.M. Kutti, Habibuddin Junaidi, Nazim Haji, Rasool Bux Phulpoto, the government of Sindh’s secretary of labour, and a large number of workers attended the function.
