In Pakistan, the conditions are worse. Most of the 47.57 million employed workforce, including females and children, are poor, illiterate and semi-trained, and thus exposed to various occupational hazards.
The working conditions and environment in most of the workplaces are sub-standard and there is no concept of taking preventive and control measures to safeguarding the health of workers. There is no record keeping and data collection of accidents and incidents that also go mostly unreported, in particular in the unorganised sector that employs two-third of total non-farm workforce.
The work culture inhibits the labourers from taking safety precautions, like using protective clothing and equipment, and disseminating information about diseases they may acquire at workplace. Thus, practically no reliable statistics are available at the national level with regard to work-related accidents, injuries and diseases.
The Labour Force Survey 2005-06, shows that only 2.9 per cent of employed industrial workforce reported occupational injuries/diseases during the year. No backup data or breakdown is given in support. This is under-statement since thousands of workers are routinely forced to work daily in hazardous conditions.
The range and scope of occupational safety and health covers all the industrial, commercial, agricultural and service sectors, utilities, manufacturing, transport/communications, hotels/restaurants, mining/quarrying, construction, the SMEs etc. Nonetheless, the high-risk areas relate to the manufacturing, mining, power generation and transmission, and construction sectors.
The major industries like textile, leather, paper, metal, rubber, fertiliser, paint, cement, plastic and ceramics generate significant environmental hazards, and resultantly cause illnesses and injuries not only to the workers but also to the general public.
Textile is our single largest industry. It uses a variety of chemicals for various processes particularly spinning, weaving, knitting, scouring, printing, dyeing and finishing, which generate noise, dust and emissions of toxic chemicals which--- all injurious to health.
Similar is the case with the engineering and iron/steel sector, the second largest industry in terms of employment, where different processes generate dust, smoke, gases etc. Steelmaking requires high use of energy, whereas production and use of energy emits sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.
The mechanical process involves vibration and noise. Heat treatment, galvanising and zinc plating are the processes of using hazardous chemicals, and generate, besides dust and gases, dangerous substances such as ammonium, zinc chloride, hydrochloric acid, cadmium etc. and volatile organic compounds from oil. Safety in the use of chemicals is of prime importance, which requires taking special measures at all stages of its handling, storage, transportation and usage.
Work-related diseases range from tuberculosis in mine workers to carpal tunnel syndrome in computer users. The common diseases are asthma, skin disease, allergies and stress-related illnesses. Work-related cancer has also been observed in various cases, which results from the unsafe use of chemicals and radioactive materials. Traumatic injuries relate to electrical and construction industry, whereas muscle-skeletal disorders result due to manual lifting and logging operations.
Again, disabilities related to machine operations are common. The use, handling of or exposure to asphalt, bitumen and mineral oil is injurious to health. Shockingly, hazardous materials are responsible for annually killing as many as 440,000 workers worldwide.
Internationally, only the occupations and professions like office-work, banking and commerce are considered safer. Ship breaking, fishery and agriculture and forestry are considered high-risk sectors, but not given recognition as such..Nearly of the employed workforce is engaged in agriculture sector, yet there is no proper legislation or a labour package to cover them.
In recent times, an increasing emphasis has been placed worldwide on addressing the issues related to the promotion of basic human rights, social justice and improvement in labour conditions. Consequently, the promotion of occupational safety and health has assumed greater relevance and significance. As a result, various governments are taking measures to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for workers, through legislation, infrastructure development, institutional mechanism and capacity building.
In June 2006, the ILO adopted a Convention on Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health aimed at placing occupational safety and health on the national agenda and lowering the toll of work-related injuries and diseases. Nonetheless, Pakistan continues to be among those few countries that have not ratified this or many other ILO conventions.
The government, the employers and the society, all remain insensitive to the major problems of safety and health. The only exception, however, is the corporate sector, particularly the multinational companies engaged in oil & gas exploration and production activities.
Pakistan’s current laws on the subject are obsolete and do not conform to the modern international practices. Also, the numerous laws on the occupational safety and health at federal and provincial levels, instead of a single comprehensive law, result in numerous anomalies and loopholes.
The list of legislation includes the Factories Act of 1934, the Factories Rules 1975, the Mines Act of 1923, the Consolidated Mining Rules 1952, Oil & Gas (Safety in Drilling and Production) Rules 1974, Dock Labourers Act 1934, Punjab Factories Rules 1978, Sindh Factories Rules 1975, Coal Mines Regulations 1926 (NWFP), the Hazardous Occupational Rules 1978, the Explosives Act 1884, the Boilers Act 1923 and Boilers & Pressure Vessels Act 2002, to name only a few.
On the other hand, the enforcement of relevant rules, regulations and legislature is not effective and observance of the employee’s and the employer’s reciprocal rights and obligations is lacking in most cases.
Good governance is imperative in this regard. In practice, for example, there is no surveillance at the workplaces by the concerned authorities, and health promotional activities, whatever available, are inadequate.
Under the provisions of the Labour Policy 2002, a National Occupational Safety and Health Council was to be established to provide safety at workplace, ensure compensation to the employees, and frame, review and update regularly the requisite standards. Five years thereon, there is no headway even towards formation of the proposed tripartite council.
Likewise, has been the fate of the recommendations made by the Commission on Labour Laws in September 2000, to consolidate the laws governing the safety, health and working conditions corresponding to the latest developments in the industry and technology. Ironically, the Labour Policy 2002 document emphasises that “occupational safety and health of labour is required to be given the highest priority.”
Pakistan needs to achieve the objectives of socio-economic uplift, to protect and promote human health and safety in particular. This will require consolidating, updating and revising the relevant laws, and adopting strategies, procedures and standards related to occupational safety and health, on priority basis. And to enforce these effectively.