KARACHI, Feb 25: The Towel Manufacturers' Association of Pakistan (TMA) has urged the government to make amendments to the existing labour laws in order to meet the challenges of WTO's quota-free era.

In a statement issued here on Friday, TMA chairman Syed Usman Ali said that changes in the labour laws would improve productivity, allow flexible working hours and encourage higher employment.

He further said that the government should support realistic and target oriented labour laws. He said that all over the world the rate of overtime was one-and-a-half time of hourly wages, while in Pakistan and India it was twice the hourly wages.

Mr Ali suggested that changes should be made in the interest of workers as well as employers and felt that these changes could be made in working hours and over time payments.

"With the end of the quota regime, the domestic textile industry is coming under intense pressure because of lower cost and higher quality. Therefore, a worker-employer collaborative approach is needed to survive in the world market," the TMA chief added.