Human rights organisations and trade unions need to work in unison for the proper implementation of the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) Plus, said the secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) IA Rehman. "If taken seriously, the GSP Plus can contribute greatly towards social change.
The GSP Plus is one of the European Union's main instruments that links human rights and social issues to trade policy. For this, states have to comply with 27 international standards and covenants on labour, human and women's rights, environment, narcotics and corruption.
While speaking at a conference held in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (Piler) and Friedrich Ebert Stifung (FES) at Regent Plaza, Rehman said finding a silver lining in Pakistan was not an easy task given that all the issues boil down to a violation of human rights.
"90 per cent of Pakistan's exports are dependent on garments and leather," he said. "GSP Plus will provide an incentive for competition for value added products and offer employment opportunities to people."
According to the director of the Balochistan labour department, Saeed Ahmed, labour welfare cannot be guaranteed unless the employers and labour representatives were not part of the policy making process. Discussing the Gadani Shipbreaking yard, he said that labourers had sold off their safety gloves and goggles at Shershah. "It is the job of the trade unions to see that safety measures are adopted at any cost," he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2014.
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