Hard labour: Time and money keep labourers away from courts

Experts call for a better judicial system for the workers.

KARACHI:

Labourer’s rights and labour laws were the protagonists of the documentary, titled “Kis se Munsifi Chahen?” launched by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research on Wednesday. The documentary, produced by Tehmina Ahmed of Newsline Films, aims to shed light on the situation of labour courts in the country.

The documentary addressed issues which hinder the judicial process at labour courts, such as unnecessary delays in cases, women’s limited access to the judicial system and job insecurity during the course of a case. Low wages was also cited as one of the reasons they don’t go to court since it involves money, time and resources.

More than 54 million workers are not able to seek justice since they are employed in the informal or undocumented sector. Informal employment provides no coverage or protection to workers in terms of access to rights and entitlements. Labour laws only cover the formal sector but a growing number of labourers also work informally under a contract arrangement. The contractual workers face immense difficulty approaching the courts since they have no proof of employment.

Sindh High Court advocate, MK Azmati, said that the labour judiciary is quick to strike down provisions that may be beneficial for workers. Referring to the pro-labour Finance Act 2007, which was set aside by the courts, he said that no action was taken against the Finance Act 2006 that compromised on labour rights.

The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research executive director, Karamat Ali, said that society’s attitude towards the working class has an impact on the government’s approach. He emphasised that people need to take note of the injustice happening around them. He spoke of the Badin case in which a sessions court judge sent the petitioner, who filed a case against bonded labour, back to the landlord since he had not paid off his debts.

Ali pointed out that the government has withdrawn almost all sources of information, available in the form of publications, covering labour judiciary’s proceedings and other legislative and executive matters. He said that the courts must be made accountable for their conduct.

The current judiciary owes its restoration to the worker’s protests, yet no judicial policies related to labour courts have been announced, added Ali.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2011.