Celebrating legendary revolutionaries : Activists vow to continue struggle

Call for amendment to laws to protect informal sector workers

ISLAMABAD: Political and trade union activists have vowed to continue the struggle for rights, change in the current system, against neo-liberal economic agenda, imperialism, and privatisation policy of the government.

Addressing various events organised in the twin cities in connection with the International Workers’ Day on Sunday, they called for amendment in labour laws, to include workers associated with the informal sector, many of whom are women.

At one of the events, held at the Rawalpindi Press Club, trade union, political and student activists paid tribute to two legendary revolutionary leaders -- Bhagat Singh and Dada Amir Haider.

“On this day, we must remember that workers are not just men. Women workers face double exploitation at their workplaces, particularly sexual harassment,” Awami Workers Party leader and academics Dr Farzana Bari said highlighted the plight of working class women.

She demanded an amendment to the labour laws to include workers in the informal sector many of whom are women,” said the head of the Gender Studies’ Department at the Quaid-i-Azam University.

Other speakers called upon labourers and their representatives to learn from the achievements as well as the shortcomings in organising the working class.

The speeches were followed by a musical performance by AWP activist Ammar Rashid, featuring the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib.

Bhagat Singh, Dada Amir Haider

The speakers paid rich tributes to Bhagat Singh who was a revolutionary activist associated with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and hailed from Faisalabad.

He was hanged at the age of 23 in Lahore in 1931 by the British colonial rulers for his revolutionary activities.

They praised Dada Amir Haider (1900–1989), who, born in Rawalpindi, spent his entire life struggling for the cause of the working class in South Asia as well as around the world.

He was arrested multiple times both before and after partition for his activism.

“We need to take a close look at the reasons why the labour movement in our region is no longer the vibrant force that it once was,” said Nusrat Hussain, secretary-general of the AWP Rawalpindi-Islamabad chapter.

Meanwhile, in separate events jointly organised by Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), All Pakistan Workers Federation, and the National Press Club, representatives of various labour unions expressed their resolve to get united in their efforts to resist neo-liberal economic agenda which was fundamentally based on the principle of usurping rights of the working class.

If Pakistan government did not take any step for the welfare of labourers and their families and continued with the policy of privatisation of state entities then that day was not far when workers agitate and stand against them, they said.

They called upon the working class to stand united to demolish the prevailing socio-economic system in a world based on sheer injustice.

They condemned the government for pursuing the neo-liberal economic agenda of the imperialism against the interest of the labourers and selling national assets.

“Profitable organisations have been sold to those who are further squeezing the poor by denying rights to them guaranteed under the constitution and international charters,” RIUJ President Agha Ali Raza Alvi said.

All Pakistan Workers Confederation Regional General Secretary Muhammad Akram Bundah, All Pakistan Wapda Hydro-electric Workers Union Regional Chairperson Javed Iqbal Baloch and Dr Comrade Changez representing PTU Defence Committee also addressed a rally that began from the NPC and culminated at Murree Road.

Moreover, a rally was taken out by All Pakistan Utility Stores Corporation National Workers Union to pay homage to the labourers who sacrificed their lives for their rights in Chicago.

They said that the Utility Stores Corporation was a revenue-generating department and the government should not privatise it.

They demanded of the government to regularise the contractual employees of the corporation.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2016.