Daily Times

Poverty alleviation and socio-economic uplift of indigent masses have remained monotonous gimmicks for almost every government -civil and military- since the inception of Pakistan. But, the malaises affecting the poor have by and large remained intact. The ruling cliques have always turned a blind eye towards the issues of a common man which highlights their failure to take meaningful reforms for the socio-economic uplift of the neglected segments of society.

Labour reforms which could have played a pivotal role in the socio-economic uplift of a common man have been thrown in the lurch by almost every government with a few exceptions. Consequently, exploitation of the poor and rising inequality in the country coupled with extreme poverty have assumed the magnitude of inexorable proportions. The sweat and service of poor employees go underpaid — sometimes unpaid — but, owing to the absence of substantive labour rights and laws the employers enjoy unfettered powers to abuse the weaknesses of hapless workforce.

The genesis of trickle-down economics which was ardently propagated by the Nobel Prize winner Simon Kuznets was assiduously embraced by the economists of Ayub Khan, chief among them was Mehbub ul Haq who proposed the ‘doctrine of functional inequality’. This paved the way for the onset of accumulation of wealth in a few hands. 22 families of pelf and persuasion owned more than half of Pakistan’s wealth. Inequality snowballed and income of workers in real terms evinced an incommensurate growth.

According to the celebrated Pakistani sociologist Hamza Alvi, the foot soldiers of All India Muslim League were the Muslim salaried/middle classes of India. But, it is ironic that after the formation of Pakistan the salaried classes have bore the brunt of economic dishevelment inordinately.

It is hard to accept that this has happened and is still happening in a country whose founder envisioned it as a welfare state. Jinnah himself alluded to capitalism as a ‘vicious and wicked system exploiting the poor masses’. This, however, in no way suggests that Jinnah wanted to create a socialist/communist state. This depicts his deep commitment to egalitarianism and social justice. The economic proposal moved at Karachi Muslim League in 1943 vehemently spoke of free primary education, land reforms, improvement in socio-economic conditions of the working class. The manifestos of Punjab Muslim League(1944) and Bengal Muslim League (1945) reiterated similar commitments.

The history of labour policy predates the formation of Pakistan. Charles Amjad and Karamat Ali write in their terrific essay “Labour Policies and Industrial Relations” that the 1926 Trade Union Act in British India allowed the freedom to form trade unions and right of collective bargaining though it restricted the right to strike and lockout before negotiations. This gave workers and labour an important stake and autonomy at their workplace. Only a year after the first martial law in Pakistan it was fully repealed and replaced by the Industrial Disputes Ordinance 1959. Air Marshal Nur Khan’s 1969 labour policy did bring some ray of hope but when the final draft of the policy was disclosed, it also came to nought. It excluded the agricultural workforce from the policy which constituted 40% of the country’s entire workforce. Flabbergastingly, it only remained effective for 10% of the total workforce.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s 1972 labour policy brought a sea change in the realm of labour rights. He enormously ameliorated the plight of industrial workers and enhanced labour rights and freedom. The land reforms taken by his regime in the 1970’s also distributed almost a million acres of farmland to landless peasants. This pretty much answers the unfathomable question for many: Why Bhutto is still alive? Unfortunately, in 1977 the notorious military dictator General Zia ul Haq banned all political and union activities. After him, Benazir Bhutto’s regime strained every nerve to reinvigorate the labour rights.

The 1999 military coup again brought labour rights back to square one. General Pervez Musharraf, the former military dictator, enacted another labour policy in 2002 which drastically curtailed the labour rights. All draconian laws like right to hiring and firing employees without any restrictions were given to employers. Adding more insult to the injury, the prerogative of labour courts to reinstate a terminated employee was also taken away. In other words, this labour policy served as a handmaiden for the elites who were given unfettered powers to callously rule the roost. The South Asian Human Development Report (1999) puts it succinctly: “South Asia presents a fascinating combination of many contradictions. It has governments that are high on governing and low on serving. It has parliaments that are elected by the poor but aid the rich.”

The Sindh government’s 2018 labour policy has stimulated the moribund tripartite structure which comprises of 40% employers, 40% labour and 20% representatives of Sindh government. This is a positive development but it has also failed to pay any significant dividends for the industrial workforce.

Lack of unionisation has given impetus to the exploitation of poor masses. Any attempt by the industrial workforce to demand its legitimate rights entails the employers showing them pink slips. What is more alarming is that 15 million textile workers who are most vulnerable to contracts and precarious work are the most affected segments due to lack of unionisation. Women also continue to remain underpaid and their rights like maternal leave are also usurped fully or partially by the employers in some organisations.

Exports are the Achilles’ heel for Pakistan’s crumbling economy. Recently, Pakistan has been granted an extension of two years for Generalised System of Preferences-Plus (GSP-Plus) status by European Union. This scheme allows developing countries to export their products on zero or preferential duties to EU states. In return, it is incumbent upon the developing states to ratify 27 International Conventions. Eight out of them are pertinent to International Labour Organisation Convention (ILO Convention) on labour rights and ten deal with human rights issues and Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), while nine are germane to environmental issues. Pakistan’s exports to the EU enhanced from 4.53 billion euros in 2013 (before the GSP-Plus Status) to 7.492 billion euros in 2019: a staggering 65% increase.

Therefore, it is imperative for the incumbent provincial governments to emulate the 1926 Trade Union Act in a manner that brings exploitation of poor industrial workers to a halt and provides them with adequate social justice. The tremendous influence of the same industrial moguls directly or indirectly in the mainstream political parties has always been conspicuous which makes the enactment of labour reforms a Herculean task. Vested interests of elites in politics are endemic across the globe, but notwithstanding most countries have taken gigantic reforms. Only a country where proletariats live a life free of exploitation can be called a democratic welfare state. After all, wasn’t exploitation of the poor despised in Riasat e Madina?

The writer works as an Engineering Officer in a textile firm in Karachi. He can be reached at junaidmalik29@gmail.com