Uphill struggle

Despite policies on paper, labourers in the country face numerous hurdles in securing their rights

KARACHI: Pakistan ranks as one of the worst countries in the world to work in, according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)’s Global Rights Index 2021. Local labour activists point out that while policies are consistent, the problem lies in delivery.

The ITUC index rated 149 countries on a scale from 1-5 based on the degree of commitment to workers’ rights where Pakistan was ranked number 5; placing it in the ‘No Guarantee of Rights’ category. This indicated Pakistan belonged to that bracket of countries where the “legislation may spell out certain rights” but the workers have “effectively no access to these rights”.

Speaking to Bol News on the issue of labour rights in the country, the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) general secretary Chaudhry Mohammad Yaseen stated that protecting the vulnerable labour class in a country of more than 200 million people is an extraordinarily huge task. “In order to move forward in our fight for income equality, we proceed with the process of negotiations with the government and employers. The PWF represents around 400 trade unions and over 900,000 workers in the country. Our mission is to empower our workers and advance the cause of social justice. We prioritise social security institutions for the registration of all workers. Our labour policy for 2022 will focus on non-regulated workers including domestic workers and farm workers.”

The PWF general secretary elaborated that while the labour policy remains consistent, delivery was difficult due to problems within the economy. “To be honest, Pakistan has benefitted from the GSP plus status but these privileges are only extended to the textile and garments industry. Our government gave guarantee to the European Union that plans for trade unionism, collective bargaining and labour inspection will materialise”, he said.

The fact is the working terms and conditions in the country seem to have remained the same for a large majority of the working class, many of whom were financially stuck in the same situations.

Effects of pandemic

PWF national coordinator Shaukat Ali Anjum argued that the issues of inflation and the anxiety induced by the overall economic situation before the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated the labour crisis once the virus reached our shores. “Due to the pandemic, the workers have been severely affected by the lockdown-induced economic crisis. The global supply chain disruptions also affected the local economy which eventually ruined the labourers financially after they suffered job losses”, he said.

In the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, the financial rut of the working class meant that they faced double-digit inflation with high petroleum prices as well as massive rupee depreciation being the contributing factors.

The PWF national coordinator revealed that in the automobile factories, a lot of the workers either lost their jobs or have been furloughed. “This has been prolonged to the point where those who were furloughed starting feeling the dread of losing their careers altogether if the market system doesn’t work out for them. Low demand during the pandemic meant there is no work to do, no delivery orders from the clients, which eventually brought down production in this industry”.

Anjum said that due to this depressing financial crunch across multiple industries, the PWF mobilised to defend workers’ rights and make efforts to help revive the city’s economic activities through the ‘right policies.’

We have pushed for a tripartite conference where the government, employers’ association representatives and labour unionists could decide on how to best protect the workers and give them their due rights, he added.

The labour rights situation in Sindh and other parts of the country has often been called into question by activists, who decry a lack of will among the industrialists and lawmakers for making workplaces better.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s National Labour Law Profile for Pakistan, the country’s labour laws, which trace their origin to legislation from British India, have evolved through a continuous process of trial reportedly to meet certain socio-economic conditions, the state of industrial development, the labour force explosion and the government’s commitment to welfare.

The ILO country profile adds that to meet the government objectives, a number of labour policies have been introduced time and again since independence to mirror the shifts in governance after the country witnessed various stages of democratisation.

While speaking to Bol News, PWF Sindh general secretary Asad Memon said the overall situation of labour in the province had barely changed. “The working class and labour activists continue to struggle in their fight against capitalist oppression. Working conditions will take much more time than just the year 2022 to improve”, he also said.

Memon highlighted that the labour situation in 2021 remained similar to those of previous years in all parts of the country but it had also worsened owing to the pandemic for certain social classes.

Constitutional questions

“There are a number of issues that need to be resolved. A contemporary problem is that after the 18th Amendment gave provincial autonomy to Sindh and other provinces, the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) was formed at the provincial level. This created inequality at a provincial level and subsequently across the social classes in urban and rural areas. Our worker’s federation has consistently [called for] this institution to remain with the centre. The provinces like Sindh and Punjab where large industries are set up generate revenue. Moreover, only certain members of the larger business community in Sindh and Punjab are benefitting from the revenues while the working class continues to suffer in silence”, he said.

He added that the regions without such industrial set-ups were unable to remunerate the registered workers with pensions and other benefits due to low revenue.

Memon claimed that the situation was worse in Sindh when it came to social security benefits. “The workers continue to be deprived of the basic amenities. Even the labourers who resided in labour colonies did not get these rights over the past decade. Even if you look at the healthcare they are given, the medicines are of poor quality. There is really no point of such social security hospitals”.

Speaking on the issue of labour laws, the PWF Sindh general secretary stressed that the legislation passed and its execution could be improved through labour institutions, such as the social security department, the EOBI and the Workers Welfare Board.

“However, it is tragic that our workers federation is not involved in any of the decisions. The labour activists who sincerely fight for equality should be a part of the governing bodies as worker and government representatives”, said Chaudhry Yaseen.

Due to a lack of influence of the PWF in government affairs, the labour rights are not being implemented, he claimed.

The rightful representatives of the working class who have a strong record of voicing support for the hard-working people must be a part of the decision-making process, the labour activist asserted.

He clarified that the workers federation has been making proposals to bring improvements in the legislation on labour laws. “However, there is an onus on the stakeholders to sensitise themselves on the issues that [labourers are] facing. Awareness among workers is not enough when the capitalists running the industries show no remorse for the conditions of the people serving them.”

Pakistan has consistently ranked among the worst countries to work in for at least six of the past seven years. The ITUC annual reports over the years reveal the country had a rating 4 in 2014 and in 2019, whereas it had the rating 5 in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.

The 2017 ITUC report showed that in Pakistan, “When excluded workers stand up for their rights, they can face dismissal as occurred in Pakistan on November 22, 2016 when 17 workers at a multinational energy company were dismissed when they demanded a wage increase”.

In December 2016, workers at an international snack food plant in Lahore continued fighting for their union against a management that allegedly refused to recognise their demands. Hundreds of union members, backed by the Pakistan Food Workers’ Federation and community supporters, rallied at the factory gate in November 2016 to highlight their demand for an end to the harassment of union members and officers, negotiation on their charter of demands and an end to the massive abuse of casual employment, the ITUC report reads.

Dialogue crucial

PWF Steering Committee chairperson Zahoor Awan told Bol News that dialogue and consultation of all stakeholders in legislation and compliance of labour laws was crucial for effective implementation. “These rules including the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 of the General Musharraf era were never implemented in the past. The Pakistan Peoples Party tenure did not even have a labour policy. Only a participatory approach is needed regarding the matter. The government must be answerable to the people during the labour legislation and the law enforcement process. What touches all must be approved by all”, said Awan.

“The GSP plus will be revised and let’s see if it gets extended or not since the European Commission [does] not have good reports of our country’s labour standards. The government is obliged here to take steps to keep the GSP plus incentives by taking good care of our workers, especially those in the export-oriented industries”.

The PWF general secretary further suggested that there is a need to increase support for unionism and collective bargaining to protect labour.

“In Sindh, we have observed that the inspection system for the workplaces is weak. The labour department and other authorities concerned also lack facilities due to the government’s negligence”, he said.

We are currently working on the issue of non-representation of workers in the EOBI, the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution and the Sindh Minimum Wages Board, he revealed. “However, despite the ILO Convention ’87, which guarantees freedom of association and protection of the right to organise as well as Convention 98, which sets out the rules for freedom of unionisation and the protection of workers from discrimination for their membership or engagement in the union activities, only six per cent of all workers are actually allowed to establish or become part of unions”.

In addition to this, I also feel there is a need to work for the betterment of the workers by grooming them, he observed. “They need to be educated about respectable ways to earn for themselves; they need to be taught to follow health and security institution guidelines”.