May Day observed with call to protect rights of workers Lahore May 2, 2021 LAHORE : While May 1 is observed a holiday all over the world to honour the workers who won the right to eight-hour work day for workers across the world in May 1886, for labourers in Pakistan May 1 is still not a holiday. Most of them were at work on this day and many had a 12-hour work day which is very common. For those in whose name this holiday is observed, do not get a holiday. Workers from across the country spoke about their working conditions in a virtual conference on this occasion arranged by Labour Education Foundation in the wake of Covid-19. Workers shared their ordeal and called for concrete steps to stop exploitation. Saba works in a garments factory and was there to raise her voice against the exploitation of workers. Her co-workers, mostly women, are made to work from 7am to 7pm without break, she said. “They say it is Ramazan and there is no need for a lunch break. They are called on Sundays as well. Some factories give half bonus, some give no bonus on the pretext of not doing well due to corona while big factories were fully working in 2020, she said. Workers work in sub-human conditions. They are not allowed to carry mobile phone. One worker had managed to take in a cellphone at work so that all of them could listen to the webinar, it was learnt. “Labour inspectors don’t make any difference,” she said. “The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer,” Saba said. Another worker, Murtaza Bajwa, said nobody is raising voice for labourers.