Daily Times

Pakistan is the sixth most populated country in the world, having a population of 207 million, according to the recent census. As per CIA World Factbook, the total number of Pakistan’s labour force is 57.2 million. Most importantly, respect and implementation of labour rights are fundamental in creating conditions of work in freedom, dignity, security and equal opportunity for all.

Across the globe, we see several examples of countries that have enacted laws seeking to protect workers from vulnerability. These include Myanmar Social Security Law 2012, Brazilian domestic workers’ legislation 2014 and the Turkish law governing temporary employment contracts 2016. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, labour law reform has never been any government’s top priority. The hope for modernising the labour codes soon disappeared as constraints surfaced including lack of political commitment, low priority to labour and inadequate capacity of provincial labour departments.

This not only consists of non-availability of labour and social protection to a larger number of working women and men but equally disturbing is the fact that many employed are found working in conditions that are far off the yardstick as laid down in the ‘decent work’ criteria.

The labour laws of the country are meant to regulate the relationship between employers and workers in which the interests of both sides are safeguarded. Employers have to ensure that the place of work is safe, hygienic and airy and that the workers are not exposed to risky health hazards. Regrettably, such a critical sphere of legislation that affects both the national economy and people’s welfare for better prospects has been totally neglected by successive governments for the last more than two decades.

The overlapping character of labour legislation was also noted by ILO Sectoral Review Mission in its report as early as in 1986. While realising the pressing need of comprehensive revision and codification of the labour laws in Pakistan, the Mission had recommended the updating, harmonisation and simplification of the legislation.

The multiplicity of labour laws resulting from unplanned and quick decisions in the past has now become a serious problem for implementing agencies, workers and employer’s rights. There is no doubt that consolidation and rationalisation of labour laws in Pakistan is a difficult and time-consuming process. It needs to be carried with full care and by having a comprehensive input from researchers, provincial governments, implementing agencies, entrepreneurs and trade unions to make the new laws more viable and long-lasting. In order to diligently entrench these reforms, the trade liberalisation commitments must adequately account for the economic and legal constraints of developing nations such as our country. It would in any way be desirable to ensure that restructuring of labour laws does not create any problem for the industry. Restructuring should, therefore, be gradual, fully considered and rationally done.

Commercial entities must evolve their labour welfare and social insurance systems in consultation with their workers’ organisations. Legislation is needed in this regard

These trade commitments should revisit the essential prerequisite for drive lasting labour reform, viable effective civil service infrastructure capable of developing, implementing and enforcing sound labour policy. It should be realised that the success of legal reform depends largely on a conducive institutional environment, which Pakistan has yet to develop. More importantly, building and modernising institutional capacity will not only lay the essential groundwork for sustainable labour reform but also allow the country to speak the same trade language as the rest of the world.

At the national level, Pakistan should work towards leveraging trade relationships in the South Asian regions to diversify its economy and decrease dependence on labour-intensive industries. The positive output of decreasing this overwhelming dependence on such industries will generate greater incentive to comply with labour standards.

In addition to that, The Factories Act, the Mines Act, the Shops and Establishment Ordinance, the Railways Act (Chapter VI-A),the Workmen Compensation Act and every law with relevant provisions should be consolidated in the shape of a generic law to be named as a law on occupational safety and health that is applicable to all economic sectors. General principles and standards should be laid down effectively in the enacting part and industry wise regulations should be appended according to their needs and requirements. The appointment of judicial authority to award compensation in case of accidents and deaths should also be provided in the same law. This law should be fully in conformity with international labour standards. It would be more advisable for Pakistan to ratify ILO Convention 155 in this regard. The subject of occupational safety and health needs to be given the highest priority to improve the working environment and ensure safe working conditions.

An enabling provision should be laid down in the law regarding conditions of employment requiring companies, firms and industries to evolve their labour welfare and social insurance systems in consultation with their workers’ organisations. It would ultimately help to deal appropriately with laws relating to labour welfare and social security. This consolidation should be carried out more meaningfully and responsibly by re-enacting laws more coherently and effectively. And all the out-dated laws and the laws, which have lost their utility or usefulness, should be repealed as soon as possible.

As a developing nation, Pakistan currently confronts the difficulties of developing viable and effective legal mechanisms necessitated by economic liberalisation. Its unique constraints as a developing nation dictate the need for feasible reform expectations. And by establishing a viable civil infrastructure, introducing occupational safety and health legislation, and garnering a broader participatory role in the WTO as well, the nation holds a great potential to reap the fruitful rewards of economic growth accompanied by lasting reform safeguarding labour’s basic rights.

The writer graduated with an LLB Hons, University of London International Programmes. Twitter @fizzaalik

Published in Daily Times, May 1^st 2018.