May Day

It has only been a little more than two weeks to the death anniversary of little Iqbal Masih, a martyr to the cause of labour rights. Masih was 12 years old when he was killed, in all likelihood for his activism against child labour. It is with this as context that we should mark Labour Day today. Pakistan, like much of the world, has decided to mark the occasion with a public holiday. Where this country and the more developed enclaves marking this day differ is in how many people will, in fact, actually be able to get the day off. The vast majority of Pakistanis will have shown up to work today, as they must do almost every day in order to simply feed and clothe themselves. This is fitting in some ways. Labour Day – or May Day – is meant to remind us of the inalienable rights of workers, but those rights still remain luxuries throughout much of the Global South. So, it is unsurprising that the ‘holiday’ itself is too. It is not okay that Pakistani workers can only command a meagre official minimum wage of Rs32000. Even this paltry sum is unattainable to most, with the majority of the country’s workers toiling in the informal sector with few protections and even less benefits. The whole country saw just how bad these conditions can get after the 2012 Baldia factory fire, which killed around 260 workers. Sadly, unsafe working conditions are just part of the job for most of the country’s workers.

What makes all of this even worse is the fact that those braving this environment are often just children. There are over three million child labourers in Pakistan – workers who should not be working in the first place. The fact that they are makes a mockery of what official worker protections and laws the country does have. Those lucky enough to be working in an office are, indeed, substantially better off. But even here, workers are often treated as entirely disposable commodities. It is not at all uncommon to not be paid on time, to be denied leave or fired without any notice. All this points to the fact that more serious efforts are needed to lift the plight of workers in Pakistan and much of the developing world. Simply holding conferences and making pledges about passing new legislation – as our officialdom will be doing today – will not work.

The country already has many laws on the books guaranteeing workers the same rights that their counterparts in the wealthier countries have but, as with many things in Pakistan, it is the implementation that is sorely lacking. And the work environment is only becoming more challenging. Technological changes are rendering many jobs obsolete and leaving those who worked in them with nowhere to go. Then there is the fact that Pakistan’s massive youth bulge has resulted in a bloated labour market where individual workers have little bargaining power. A situation like this calls for empowered unions that can help workers negotiate as a collective and raise the floor as far as workers’ rights and benefits are concerned. Reviving this critical institution will be key to not only empowering workers but improving the standard of living in Pakistan in general.