“The pervasive menace of bondage has deprived labourers of their fundamental rights,” they said at the discussion titled “International Human Rights and Labour Standards: Pakistan’s Compliance” which was organised by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc).
Barrister Zameer Ghumro blamed the federation for “depriving the population of Sindh of its rights”. Iqbal Detho, the Sparc national manager on child rights, maintained that after ratifying international conventions for human rights, the Pakistan government is bound to implement the laws. After the 18th Amendment and the devolution of ministries to the provinces, child and labour rights are generally being ignored, he claimed. Detho added that the amendment has confused policymakers about how the state should respond to international commitments once the subjects are devolved to the provinces.
Regarding the state of labour rights, Zulfiqar Shah, the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) joint director, said that almost all the workers in the agriculture sector are deprived of their fundamental labour rights.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
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