Karachi
May 2, 2021
Marking International Labour Day on Saturday, the Hari Welfare Association (HWA) lamented that in the rural areas of Sindh, millions of workers in agriculture and brick kilns are without social security and decent work, including the minimum wage.
HWA head Akram Khaskheli claimed that these workers hardly received Rs6,000 per month in salary against the Rs17,500 minimum wage promised by the Sindh government for unskilled workers in 2019.
The HWA stated that because of unemployment and lack of education and skills, millions of young people were forced to work around 14 hours a day at grocery shops, restaurants, and workshops just for Rs5,000 per month in rural parts of Sindh, and among them were women and girls who picked cotton and chillies but received meagre wages.
Call for universalisation of social security, unemployment allowance
Karachi
May 1, 2021
Trade union and labour leaders on Friday demanded of the federal government to pay an unemployment allowance to all workers who had lost their jobs during the coronavirus and to universalise social security by making changes in the constitution.
Addressing a joint press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Karamat Ali from the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, Habib-ud-Din Junaidi from the People’s Labour Bureau, Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation, Farhat Parveen from the NOW Communities, Zahra Khan from the Home-Based Women Workers Federation, and Jannat Hussain from the Pakistan Trade Unions Defence Campaign pointed out that the workers have been hit hard due to the Covid-19 pandemic and they were not receiving any support from the government.
Labour leaders and trade unionists address the press conference at the Karachi Press Club on the eve of May Day. Photo by writer
KARACHI: “Laws are made to be implemented, not to be stored inside cupboards,” said Habibuddin Junaidi, president, Peoples Labour Bureau, Sindh. He was speaking at a joint press conference on labour issues called by labour activists and trade union leaders in connection with May Day at the Karachi Press Club on Friday.
“The PPP government has passed some very fine labour-friendly laws such as the Sindh Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Sindh Home-Based Workers Act, the Sindh Covid-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance, etc, but non-implementation of these laws is [a matter of concern], especially in the private sector,” he said.
Piler demands resilient system for workers’ safety
Karachi
April 30, 2021
The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) has underscored the need to lay down a resilient system of occupational safety and health (OSH) at workplaces in the country, saying that the current system, especially the labour inspection mechanism in the provinces, has failed to ensure the protection of workers’ lives and their wellbeing.
In a statement issued on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, Piler Executive Director Karamat Ali regretted that every year hundreds of workers lose their lives while working, especially in coal mines and other industries, in major cities of the country.
PILER bemoans lack of labour inspection
Says current mechanism has failed to save lives of workers
KARACHI:
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) said current safety protocols, especially in the labour inspection mechanism, failed to protect the lives of workers and ensure their wellbeing.
It stressed on the need to ensure stringent safety and health protocols at all workplaces across the country.
In a statement on World Day for Safety and Health at Work, PILER Executive Director Karamat Ali bemoaned that hundreds of workers lost their lives every year, especially in coal mines and other industries.
The statement added that World Day for Safety and Health at Work focuses on national occupational safety and health (OSH) systems, drawing on lessons learned through past experiences. According to a recent report which quoted Pakistani mineworkers unions, at least 208 workers lost their lives in coal and mineral mines during 2020.