Practical steps needed to ensure labour, owner rights

LAHORE: Both employees and employers need to know their responsibilities to get their rights and respect each other. These views were expressed by the speakers at the Jang Economic Session on ‘May Day. Are workers getting their rights?’ here on Wednesday. The panellists were Ayesha Hamid, Khurshid Ahmed, Afzal Khyal, Tayab Ali Khan, Rubina Jamil and Malik Ijaz while the session was hosted by Sikandar Lodhi.
Ayesha Hamid said practical steps were needed at the government level to ensure basic labour and ownership rights. She said labourers were protected and now it was their responsibility to perform the duties efficiently to improve their economic condition and develop a prosperous society. She called for accountability of the working class and said if women were getting equal rights, they should not be given special treatment. She stressed awareness programmes for women at schools and colleges for working environment.
Khurshid Ahmed said there was a need to develop democratic society to respect labourers. He said economic and justice reforms were the responsibilities of the government. He called for ending anti-labour laws, child labour, forced labour and unequal treatment with women workers. He believed practical steps were needed for the respect of labourers in Pakistan. He said an increase in salaries and daily wages as per inflation was labourers’ right.
Afzal Khyal said unorganised workforce was facing problems while balance between rights and responsibilities could increase productivity and improve society. He said quality of workers was much low while exploitation was another name of killing human beings. He called for activating social security and government institutions to resolve issues.
Tayab Ali Khan said exploitation of labourers and workforce continued. He said priorities should be set for economic revival. He called for joint efforts from civil society and experts to come out of pressure from international institutions.
Rubina Jamil said May Day was observed in the memory of Chicago labourers and the day had become the pride of the labourers. She said it was the responsibility of the state to provide basic rights to labourers. She said the middle class was suffering due to wrong policies of the rulers. She called for improving contractor system and ensuring basic rights to female workers. She believed strict implementation of labour and daily wagers laws could resolve issues. Malik Ijaz said May Day should not be spent as a holiday. Practical steps should be taken for the workers’ benefits, he added. He urged the workers to perform their duties properly.