Labour rights: ‘Women workers are often exploited with impunity’

HomeNet organises consultative meeting with women MPAs.

LAHORE: Javaid Iqbal Gill of the Labour Department said on Friday that most labour legislation in the country had been drafted without taking into account the possibility of a female work force.

He was speaking at a consultative meeting with several female provincial assembly members (MPAs) organised by HomeNet Pakistan (HNP). A study looking at gender gaps in labour laws was launched at the event.  Gill, the author and the main researcher of the study, said the government had been striving to make labour laws more women friendly.

Population Welfare Minister Zakia Shahnawaz commended the HNP for taking the initiative. She said it was common knowledge that women workers were often exploited with impunity. Shahnawaz said this could not be remedied till social change was fostered and people stopped exploiting the disadvantaged.

She lamented the fact that some women happened to work for as little as Rs5 per day. Shahnawaz said middlemen were responsible for this. She called on MPAs from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) present on the occasion to return to the assembly. Shahnawaz said constructive criticism was the beauty of democracy. She said this helped in identifying gaps that needed to be filled.

Women Development Minister Hamida Waheedud Din said women MPAs had spoken to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to ensure the quick passage of bills pertaining to women.

She said seven of these would be discussed at the next meeting of the cabinet. Din expressed hope regarding their passage before March 8, which is marked around the world as International Women’s Day.

The report launched on the occasion analyses various labour policies introduced over time and the implementation of legislation applicable to women working in various industries. A situational analysis was also conducted in Faisalabad, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, and Lahore asking women from various sectors regarding the implementation of the laws.

USAID Gender Equity Programme (GEP) chief of party Simi Kamal gave the keynote address. HNP Executive Director Umm-i-Laila Azhar gave the introduction and vote of thanks.

MPAs Lubna Faisal, Rahila Khadim Hussain, Shazia Kamran, Nasreen Lodhi, Salma Butt, Farzana Butt, Nosheen Hamid, Sadia Sohail Awan, Faiza Malik, Alia Aftab, Sajida Mir and Shahzadi Shamim Akhtar were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2015.