ISLAMABAD: Former convener of parliamentary taskforce on sustainable development goals (SDGs) Riaz Fatyana said on Wednesday that Pakistan lacks the capacity and the commitment with the cause of implementing SDGs, despite having excellent legislation and policy frameworks in terms of environment-friendly development and industrialisation thus, concerted efforts should be made to address the issues of sustainable development and better environment.
He said at a panel discussion on “Review of Selected Goals for HLPF 2023 in South Asia” on the 3rd day of the Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and jointly held alongside UNESCAP’s 6th South and Southwest Asia High-level Political Forum and Policy Dialogue on the SDGs.
He further said that there was a huge funding gap in effective city management, so the capacity of the city governments needs to be improved to make cities livable places.
“Increasing air pollution and other forms of urban pollution have become serious challenges which require extensive mass awareness campaigns,” he added.
Earlier, Moderator Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, economic advisor for the Ministry of Finance emphasised the importance of knowledge sharing to address the developmental and environment-related issues in the region. From effective town planning to dealing with issues such as water scarcity, unavailability of clean water, lack of health and education infrastructure, regional countries need to enhance cooperation to learn from each other about their best practices.
Dr Posh Raj Pandey, chairman SAWTEE, Nepal, and Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary, National Planning Commission, Nepal, also shared the recommendations finalised through a group discussion among the panelists.
The experts highlighted that although South Asian countries are somehow making progress to achieve SDGs, especially that are related to the provision of basic services to the population, serious issues such as inclusive development, sustainable urbanisation, responsible industrialisation and the basic services such as health and education are not available to a majority population in the broader terms.
The inclusion of women and the youth in the much-needed social dialogue is the need of the hour and is a pre-requisite for ensuring decent work in Pakistan. This was stated by the experts at a roundtable, “Agenda Setting for Social Dialogue on Decent Work in Pakistan”.
Dr Rabia Razzaque from International Labour Organization (ILO, Pakistan) said that social dialogue is an end and means to end in itself to improve decent work conditions.
Rubina Jamil, General Secretary of All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF), blamed the absence of trade unions for poor communication between employees and employers thus, leading to poor workplace conditions.
She pointed out that the European Union (EU) guidelines pertaining to women under GSP+ are not being implemented despite female labour dominating garments and textile sector.
Khalid Mehmood, a labour court lawyer, said the country lacks an enabling environment for the masses to organise themselves at different levels, thus, hindering social dialogue. He stressed the need for strengthening democratic norms for holding an effective social dialogue.
Syed Nazar Ali, Secretary-General of the Employer’s Federation of Pakistan (EFP) said social dialogue is the key to consensus development, which is possible by promoting democratic norms and freedom of expression.
Noor Zaman, Chairman of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), said that the establishment of a work council is mandatory as per law and is crucial in the absence of trade unions. He further said that the NIRC is working to come up with legislation to ensure decent work and ensure registration of the informal sector. He stressed the need for ensuring female representation in trade unions.
Arooma Shehzad, General Secretary of the Domestic Workers Union, said that inclusion and true representation of all stakeholders, which is a prerequisite for social dialogue, must include domestic workers.
Saad Muhammad, Deputy General Secretary of the Pakistan Workers Federation, stressed the need for strengthening youth representation in trade unions. He said that a lack of awareness among youths on workers’ laws and forums must be focused. He suggested that basic labour laws should be incorporated in the curriculum to improve understanding and awareness.
Zahida Parveen Mughal, Secretary for Women Workers Alliance, said that women participation in the workforce is rising with diverse employment opportunities, but there still remains the need to increase awareness on employment opportunities, knowledge of laws and increasing representation of women in federations and unions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022