Pakistan’s record on labour rights leaves a lot to be desired. Most of our workers are employed in the informal sector, where labour rights are not enforced. Even in the formal sector it is not uncommon to find employees who have not been paid their salary for over a month, are working in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, are being paid far below the value of their work, in some cases even below the legal minimum wage and can be terminated at any time without notice. The workers are readily replaceable, given our huge population, and unable to command better salaries and working conditions.
Capitalism tells us that in the free market, people have perfect information to make perfect choices but the reality is different. In this system, employers have a monopoly over the means of production. So, workers have just two choices: either allow the employers to exploit them or stay jobless.
Haleema Sadia
Kallar Syedan