Bonded labour

It is the same old story. Laws are passed and they are seldom heard about until it is revealed that they are not being enforced. Under the Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 2015, district vigilance committees were to be set up in all districts of the province but even after the lapse of five years, these bodies have not been established in most districts. A notification for constituting vigilance committees in 12 districts had been issued though, they are yet to be made functional. In other districts, the committees have not been set up altogether. The delay in establishing vigilance committees and making the ones already established functional have rendered it very difficult to monitor the implementation of the laws related to the emancipation of bonded labourers.

Obviously, the authorities have developed cold feet as to the implementation of the relevant laws, and in consequence of this bonded labour is on the rise in rural area of the province, and is also delaying the release of those bonded labourers who could have been freed from the bondage of doing forced labour or working without payment of wages. From 2017 to 2019, courts in Sindh, with the help of NGOs, have released 553 bonded labourers. However, circumstances produced by the coronavirus pandemic are not only leading to an increase in the number of bonded labourers, they have also halted efforts to expedite the release of bonded labourers in the province. The delay in setting up vigilance committees has added to the problem. Another law, enacted in 2019, that recognised female agricultural labourers as formal workers entitling them to several benefits, too, is yet to be implemented.

All labour laws should be extended to the agriculture sector and to all those workers engaged in other sectors in rural areas, and these workers should be brought under the social security net. There is also the need to eliminate the curse of bonded labour through phased land reforms.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2021.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.