KARACHI: Civil society, human rights and labor rights activists on Tuesday welcomed the initiation of Human Rights Award by the federal government and congratulated the famous singer Jawad Ahmed and demanded the government to initiate process of implementing all the international human rights conventions including ILO Conventions. Speaking a press conference along with Jawad Ahmed and other labor leaders at Karachi Press Club, the Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Karamat Ali said that the government needs to ensure provision of rights of associations, joining trade unions and collective bargaining rights to all the workers in Pakistan. There is a serious situation of free exercising of two major fundamental rights – Right to association and right to information. Recently the government has formulated the Cyber Crimes Bill to restrict right of expression especially on social media. Similarly, collective bargaining right of the workers is restricted as only one percent labor is registered under trade union movement, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Jawad Ahmed announced that he dedicates his Human Rights Award to the workers and poor and he pledged to work for provision of fundamental rights to the downtrodden people. “I think this Human Rights award should have been given to the labor leaders, but I think I have been given the award for working class,” he remarked. Working people are surviving with a difficulty as they even do not get minimum wages. He pointed out that in the industries and agriculture sector, labor is unable to get Rs. 6,000 per month, much less that minimum wages, thus majority of labor is facing economic hardships. The workers, who are the actually producers of goods and they need their human rights. In our country over 30 million children are out of the schools, the health facilities are in shambles in the country, Jawad Ahmed said. Speaking on the occasion, Convener of Sindh Labor Solidarity Committee Habibuddin Junaidi welcomed the government’s decision to give Human Rights Award to Jawad Ahmed.