LAHORE: Like rest of the world rallies and meetings will be arranged throughout Pakistan to pay homage to Chicago martyrs, domestic and other workers in the informal sector will commemorate Labour Day on Thursday (today) by working as usual.

The situation has not been satisfactory for the working class as a whole for the last two decades or so, a surge in violence against domestic workers has recently been reported.

The workers in the formal sector will take to street primarily for electricity and gas non-availability which has rendered hundreds of thousands of them jobless. Unprecedented electricity and gas outages resulted in partial or complete closure of scores of industrial units, especially in textile sector. The situation also slowed down the economic growth, increasing unemployment rate to an alarming level, leading to protests in major cities across Punjab.

Lack of recognition on the part of government, denial of fundamental right of freedom of association besides law and order situation will include the other challenges the workers in the formal sector will be highlighting during their May Day engagements. Domestic workers contribute around 73 per cent to the country’s economy according to the Labour Force Survey.

“Work is work, be it in a factory or at home. Domestic workers are workers and must be recognised as individuals who deserve rights, says veteran trade union leader Khurshid Ahmed.

“Poverty, unemployment, ignorance, irrational widening gap between the rich and poor, elimination of abuse of child and bonded labour, empowerment of women and raising dignity of the working men and women in their respective societies in this age of globalisation of economy and rapid technological development are the common challenges South Asian region has been facing but Pakistan is also confronting terrorism.

“Decent work is the most deeply felt aspiration of people in all societies, developed and developing. It’s the way ordinary women and men express their needs. If you go out on the streets or in the fields and ask people what they want, in the midst of the new uncertainties that globalisation has brought upon all of us, the answer is, work. Work to meet the needs of their families in safety and health, educate their children, and offer them income security after retirement, work in which they are treated decently and their basic rights are respected. That is what decent work is about,” says Mr Ahmed.