Speakers have stressed the need for forming a strong political party to represent workers to solve their long-lasting problems in the country. They said this while speaking to participants of HRCP discussion titled "Informal Labour in Construction Sector in Hyderabad and Surrounding Cities" organised by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Task Force Hyderabad held at a local press club on Monday.
"Two mainstream political parties including the PML-N and PPP represent capitalists and feudal lords respectively in the country. Workers must form a strong political party which would fight for their rights," HRCP Sindh vice chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt said.
He stated that political parties of the country must knuckle down the some serious work to address the issues of informal labour because they could solve these issues at parliament. But if workers thought that non-governmental organisations would bring about a big change in the existing system of the country, it would not be right, he said. Although NGOs played an important role in the society, they were not successful in addressing labour issues.
"We should not be more disappointed or happier about the current scenario of the country," he said, adding that capitalists transferred their assets to foreign countries for earning more profits. He said that the capital was not limited but the labour or hard work was limited in the country as it is sad. He said that workers must be awarded appointment letters so that they could get proper rights and facilities. He said that many workers were burned to death in the Baldia factory inferno at Karachi, most of them had not retained appointment letters and that was why, they failed to make claims.
He stressed that it was a high time to mentally strengthen labourers to fight for their own rights and facilities. "We have to transform this Jagirdarana (feudal) system for labourers," he concluded. The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) representative and researcher Zeenat Hisam said that there was no research in construction sector in the country while approximately 4.5 million workers were associated with this sector in the country. She said that there were many casualties but labour laws were not properly implemented despite many labour laws.
She said that there were many challenges being faced by construction industry workers. She said that there were more than 10 big builders in Hyderabad and all construction companies must give training to workers for safety as it happens in the world following International Labour Organisation (ILO) to avert casualties. She supported to constitute a committee in Hyderabad including representatives of public and private organisations to raise voice against injustices being faced by labourers and bring about a significant improvement in industry sector.
Awami Workers Party Sindh general secretary Bukhshal Thalho pleaded for forming a committee to address issues of workers while lamenting cheaper labour in Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and other developing countries. He said that workers were being exploited by the capitalist system in the country and other parts of the world. He said that workers must strengthen left wing parties which always raised voice of labour class including construction workers and others.
He said that all political parties claimed that they were with workers, but rights of workers were being usurped. He said that a worker earned from Rs 300 to Rs 1200 by working hard a day without any facilities including health, education and others.
All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union president Abdul Latif Nizamani said that there were formal and informal, registered and unregistered labour as they were described for calculated benefits in the world. He said that there were five percent organised or qualified workers in the country while the rest of them were not qualified. He said that it was prime onus of the state to provide training and sharpen their professional skills. He said that privatisation was destroying the national institutions of the country but he was fighting against privatisation policy of the government and he was successful to great extent in this respect. He said that workers must be given all rights as they are backbone of the state.
The HRCP Hyderabad task force head Dr Ashothama Lohana said that there were 42 categories of construction workers including labourers, masons, electricians, carpenter, painter, interior designer and others. He asked for taking steps including investigating the abuse and exploitation of labourers by agents and employers, create awareness of construction labourer's rights and setting up mechanisms and redressal, ensuring decent working conditions and proper contract systems and providing basic health care for construction labourers.
He also stressed the need for adequate intervention from the government authorities required ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the construction labourers. He said that NGO's working for child welfare should consider the difficulties of the construction labourers and plan strategies to ensure free education of these children. Those who spoke on the occasion were psychiatrist Dr Shahnawaz Dall, writer Nazeer Channa, journalist Sohail Sangi, all Pakistan defence workshop federation chairman Mehboob Qureshi, international socialist committee chairman Mohammad Khan Ahmedani and others.