KARACHI: Experts at a programme held on Friday at a local hotel called for the revival of labour inspection and updating what they described as the obsolete Factories Act.

They were speaking at the launch of a documentary titled Workplace Safety in Pakistan and a comprehensive report on a conference held in Kathmandu early this year.

The Kathmandu moot was aimed at developing strategies for accountability and decent work conditions in the apparel and garment industry in South Asia.

The event was organised by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler).

Sharing his views, senior lawyer Faisal Siddiqi said that labour inspection with provision of surprise visits to workplaces should be revived in all provinces to ensure workers’ health and safety.

“The government should appoint labour inspectors and organise their training so that an effective labour inspection system is put in place,” he said.

In the context of the Baldia factory fire tragedy that claimed lives of 255 workers in Karachi two years ago, he said that the fire was the largest fatal fire incident in the world, which needed not only local accountability of the factory owners and relevant government institutions, but also international accountability.

Underlining the need for public mobilisation on workers’ problems, he regretted that incidents like the Baldia fire didn’t convince the government to introduce measures to avoid such mishaps in future.

The province of Sindh, Mr Siddiqi pointed out, once had a proper labour inspection system in place and no big factory incident was reported during that time.

Regarding judiciary role, he said that it was helpful in providing compensation to victims’ families. “We have a good social security system in place that should be protected. Such a system does not exist anywhere in South Asia. In Bangladesh, workers are facing hardships after Rana Plaza and other incidents,” he said.

Executive director of Piler Karamat Ali said health and safety was a serious issue in Pakistan, which had not been addressed by successive governments seriously. Factories, he said, were constructed like jails, especially textile mills.

He said there was a need for solidarity at the South Asian level on this issue. On the regional roundtable in Kathmandu to discuss problems of garment workers, he said that it had led to the formation of a network of textile garment workers. Another demand, he informed the audience, that had come of the roundtable was the call for a similar minimum wage in all countries of South Asia.

He said there was already a strong solidarity on the fishermen’s issue at the South Asian level. “We had filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan on behalf of Indian fishermen in 2011. As a result, over 450 Indian fishermen were released by Pakistan.” Similar action was taken in India and Pakistani fishermen were released.

A health and safety expert, Naeem Sadiq, called for changes in the Factories Act of 1934. The present factories act, he said, needed to be updated according to changes in the work environment.

“Pakistan needs an administrative structure to manage and implement the labour laws. In the US an institution for health and safety is there, which ensures provision of health and safety facilities to workers. But unfortunately, we don’t have such a system in Pakistan,” he said.

Earlier, a documentary by Naghma Sheikh on workers’ safety in Pakistani industries was screened.

A former officer of the Sindh labour department, C. L. Nankanai, also spoke.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2014