Once again the Labour Day has arrived that is being observed to commemorate the sacrifices of the labour leaders who were hanged for raising a voice for their rights in Chicago 136 years ago. Before talking about the International Labour Day it would be instructive to explain the current political situation in our country because democracy and the struggle of labourers are interlinked.

The political conflicts between the ruling party and the opposition parties have been continuing for the last six months. The Tehreek-e-Insaf, which came into power in the name of “change”, has been ousted after the success of a no-confidence motion in parliament.

The former Punjab chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has become the prime minister, and his cabinet took the oath on 19th April, in which former opposition parties are included. It has happened for the first time in Pakistan’s history that a no-confidence motion has been successful against any prime minister.

A new chapter in politics has thus been written; as a result, the parliamentary democratic system has successfully pushed ahead and we hope this will result in a mutual understanding and cooperation between the four provinces.

The Pakistan People’s Party is numerically not the largest party in the National Assembly, but it is a fact that in the four provinces of the country, plus Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, it is the largest party of the working class.

The population of that working class is more than 33 percent and it is the sole representative party of the class. It is hoped that the parliament will show Pakistan the right direction in democratic politics. The Pakistan People’s Party has become the most important party in this political scenario.

On the 136th World Labour Day, if we examine the labour movement and trade unions in our country, it is clear that this movement will face strong resistance. Trade unions are present and even more dynamic in governmental, semi-governmental organisations and other institutions under the government, but as far as the private sector is concerned the situation is very bad.

There is no progressive change in the mindset of a majority of industrialists. They still consider labour unions as their enemy and do not give them the status they deserve. As a result, the actual representative labour unions were weakened and this period is favourable for the rise of the ‘pocket unions’ in their place.

The laws passed by the Sindh Assembly for the workers’ betterment are below mentioned and no other province of Pakistan other than Sindh has taken any special step to protect labourers.

Reforms undertaken by the Sindh Government are as under:

• The Sindh Maternity Benefit Act. 2018;

• The Sindh Protection Against Harassment of Women at the workplace Act, 2010;

• The Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Act, 2019;

• The Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Act, 2015;

• The Sindh Differently Abled Persons (Employment, Rehabilitation & Welfare) Act, 2014;

• The Sindh Minimum Wage Act, 2015;

• The Sindh Labour Policy, 2018 that covers child labour, bonded labour, mine workers, women and special persons;

• The Sindh Industrial Relations Act, 2013;

• The Sindh Payment of Wages Act, 2015;

• The Sindh Factories Act, 2015;

• The Sindh Shops & Commercial Establishment Act, 2015;

• The Sindh Home-Based Workers Act, 2018;

• The Sindh Employees Old Age Benefits Act, 2014;

• The Sindh Employee’s Social Security Act, 2016;

• The Apprenticeship Act, 2017;

• The Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017;

• The Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 2015, and;

• The Sindh Occupation, Health & Safety Act, 2017.

The Labour Day reminds us of the martyred labourers in Chicago who, 136 years ago, raised awareness in that American city about the basic rights of workers and against the use of 18-hour work duration. As a result of this historic uprising, seven labour leaders were hanged by the industrialists’ court; some people were convinced that the movement had been crushed by violence but this was their biggest mistake. Gradually, the information spread like wildfire throughout the world. Trade unions were organised all over the world, red flags of rights were raised and many states included the red flag of workers and their rights in the basic charter of their states.

Today the whole world marks the memory of the martyrs of Chicago with great fervour and passion, but the industrialists and the court of justice working on their cues have become part of the dustbin of history.

(The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the newspaper)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022