Labourers taste the dust of govt’s apathy

Speakers at labour conference highlight workplace safety and residential infringement

KARACHI: Fed up with the false promises and dubious legislations, the labour union leaders have decided to take their problems to the streets and start a movement for their rights.

Pakistan is a signatory of the 37 conventions of International Labour Organisation guaranteeing social protection and justice to workers. However, the country has failed to implement these conventions at the workplace, asserted the labour leaders during a press conference on Thursday.



"Had the government taken the issue seriously, the fateful incident of Sundar factory collapse could have been averted," said National Trade Union Federation deputy general secretary Nasir Mansoor. "In a month, four factories in Lahore only had accidents that put the lives of workers in danger. They occurred due to the negligence of authorities."

Despite witnessing one of the largest industrial disasters of the Baldia factory fire, the authorities have yet to take any measure to ensure the safety of labourers, he pointed out. "The authorities meant to get the system implemented are seen nowhere."

Recently, the Sindh Assembly passed legislation in name of workers' welfare. The law itself is anti-labour courtesy to the circumstances in which it was made, Mansoor maintained, adding that no workers representative were not taken on board while setting its rules.



The government that claims to be democratic passed the bill in an undemocratic way, he said. "It was an open violation of tripartite consultation."

Land allotment

The provincial government is pledging more measure to improve the condition of labour while it has failed to ensure a worker's access towards the existing ones, Mansoor added. "Three years ago, 4,008 flats were allotted to workers through a balloting process. Yet, their possession has yet to be handed over to them, despite making all the payments."



The government had allowed the flood victims to live in the flats that were built for workers, temporarily. Then, they were never vacated and the residential complex was taken over by the land mafia," he pointed out. "In April, this year, the Sindh High Court had directed the authorities to get the flats vacated within 60 days and hand them over to their legal owners. But, the situation is still the same."



The problems don't end here, he claimed. "After depriving labour of their houses, the mafia is also playing with their lives. In workers' hospital, spurious medicines are being supplied."

After suffering a lot, the workers have decided they will launch a protest movement for their rights, he concluded. The first demonstration in this connection will be held on November 24 at Ghani Chowrangi in SITE.

"If the government does not take the matter seriously, it will beget negative effects on economy. Pakistan may lose its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status, meaning a cut of USD1billion in foreign exchange, due the workers' rights violations that are rampant here," he added.

The GSP Plus status was given to Pakistan in December 2013 by the European Union. It allows a duty free access to Pakistani products to enter European markets. Due to it, 20 per cent of the country's products enter EU at zero tariff while the rest at referential rates.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2015.