4
EVERY few months, news and social media platforms catch wind of what are otherwise frequently occurring violations of Pakistan’s labour laws. These last couple of weeks a popular clothing company, which runs a large domestic and international operation, made the news for the same reason.
First, the facts. In April, 124 employees of one factory (owned by or run for the company) filed a petition with the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) highlighting alleged worker rights violations. These include lack of appointment letters and permanent contracts, absence of social security and EOBI contributions, and the existence of what’s called a ‘pocket’ (or employer-controlled) union.
Soon after this was filed, another petition was moved by 32 employees who said they were threatened with termination by the employer, ostensibly for their involvement in the first petition. So far, NIRC has disposed of the second petition after gaining an assurance from the company that the employees involved would not be terminated.
One would be hard-pressed to find a domestic operation in the manufacturing or retail sector where labour violations are not the norm.
The record of both petitions is available with the NIRC, and can be viewed on the Facebook page of People’s Solidarity Forum, a progressive activist group currently working with the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and the Sindh Labour Federation (SLF) on this particular case.
Contrary to the denials issued by the company, it is clear that a rights violation petition was indeed filed, that the company, even if using a sub-contracted factory, was legally obliged to ensure compliance with existing laws, and that a set of workers was threatened with termination, despite the law explicitly prohibiting any such act.
Anyone with even a basic knowledge of working conditions in Pakistan would know that none of this is out of the ordinary. While the company at the heart of this scandal flaunts its progressive image and its social responsibility outreach, poor working conditions (such as one bathroom break in eight hours), informal contracting, and below-minimum wage salaries are rampant across the country. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a domestic operation in the manufacturing or retail/wholesale sector where such violations are not the norm.
A 2016 study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on labour conditions in Pakistan’s textile and garment sector found just four per cent of all firms complying with employment standards. Instead, most firms deploy labour contractors, known as ‘jobbers’ in certain sectors, who maintain oppressive verbal contracts with the employees, and charge a cut of their salaries for finding them employment in the first place.
Another study, from 2015 by Kabeer Dawani and Asad Sayeed, found salaries of most workers in sporting goods manufacturing firms in Sialkot were insufficient to constitute a living wage for the areas in which they reside.
There are many reasons why anyone reading this piece, or those who heard about recent protests, should care about violation of labour laws. From a social justice point of view, each violation compounds the problem of inequality and poverty in Pakistan. From a citizenship point of view, each violation is denying a legal right to a citizen of this country.
However, appeals based on such moral-ethical considerations frequently land on deaf ears. Middle or upper-class sceptics see popular brands and companies as success stories worth celebrating. Some are elevated to the status of ‘national icons’, crucial for pushing a ‘softer image’ of a very hard country like Pakistan. Therefore, labour law violations are either a small price to pay or a fiction generated by jealous competitors or donor-money seeking NGOs.
In this worldview, several narratives about labour often come to the fore: for starters, expensive labour rights are a luxury poor countries can’t afford, especially as they play catch-up in the global development game. Secondly, anyone with a job, regardless of how oppressive its conditions are, is considered to be doing okay. Thirdly, though seldom voiced, workers are often unproductive, inefficient, and prone to misbehaviour. Hence they don’t deserve unqualified sympathy. This last one is a particularly prevalent view about domestic help.
It is possible that nothing anyone says can change such blatantly anti-poor biases. However, there is a technocratic case that can be made for improving working conditions in Pakistan, that speaks a language beyond moral-ethical considerations. Providing dignified employment is the surest way of guaranteeing social mobility for low-income households in this country. If a household is supported by stable wages, which comply with legal requirements, and has access to medical support, social security, and other employment entitlements, they are more likely to invest in assets and resources that will improve conditions for their subsequent generation. At a fundamental level, this has the direct impact of eradicating chronic poverty and precariousness in the country, but from a growth perspective, it also results in a more skilled workforce in the future.
Plenty of research shows that households with stable incomes, which meet basic requirements of subsistence, invest surplus amounts or savings in education and health. Their second generations are almost always better educated, more skilled, and healthier. By investing in workers today, the country is ensuring a more productive workforce for the future, which helps resolve the long-standing problem of low-labour productivity in the country.
Economic growth during the 20th century, especially in industrial democracies, was made possible through adequate investments in labour, especially those working in manufacturing enterprises. This wasn’t done because capitalists were generous or good-hearted (though that was the case in some instances), but because unions, pro-labour political groups, and middle-class citizens fought and ensured these investments were made.
Unfortunately, the latest scandal of labour right violations shows Pakistan is cursed on two accounts. Groups protecting the interests of working people are still weak and ineffective, while members of its ever-expanding middle class appear to find common cause with those above them, rather than those struggling below.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
Twitter: @umairjav
Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2017
