SHC approached against government’s failure to implement pro-labour laws

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the provincial chief secretary, Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI), Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (Sessi) and others on a petition against non-implementation of labour laws in the province.

The petitioner, Muzafar Ali, had submitted in the petition that certain beneficial laws including Sindh Home-Based Workers Act, Sindh Occupational Safety and Health Act, Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, Sindh Woman Agriculture Workers Act, and EOBI and Sessi laws had been promulgated but due to lack of complete implementation of these laws, labourers were not getting the benefits they were entitled to under the laws.

He submitted that the authorities were not taking interest in implementing these laws in letter and spirit, as a result of which the workers were not getting the fruit of such legislation. He informed the SHC that as per the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention, the workers class must get certain benefits, including medical care, social security, injury benefits and education facilities but none of these facilities were available to the workers class in Sindh.

He said millions of workers were sinking in the bottomless pits of poverty and Pakistan was a country where the workers were being paid 50 per cent less wages and 90 per cent of them were deprived of old age benefits.

The high court was requested to direct the Sindh government to ensure implementation of the labour laws in letter and spirit, and registration of the labourers, domestic workers, daily-wage workers and other workers under the relevant laws and regulations.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar after the preliminary hearing of the petition issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, chief secretary, Sessi and EOBI and called their comments on the next date of hearing.

It is pertinent to mention here that the SHC had on October 7, 2021, directed Sessi to ensure physical verification of all the establishments falling within its territorial jurisdiction and ensure registration of employees.

The high court had directed Sessi to work for the registration of domestic workers under the Sindh Home-Based Workers Act 2018 for which necessary publications had to be issued to inform the domestic workers about their rights in case they had registered themselves under the law.

The high court had observed that admittedly, a less number of workers were registered with Sessi and the Sindh Workers Welfare Board. The bench had directed all the deputy commissioners to provide help to Sessi officers to ensure that every worker was registered with the institution. The bench had also directed Sessi to introduce digital modes for registration of workers enabling employees and self-employed workers to fill the required forms for issuance of social security registration cards.