Call for activating district vigilance committees to enforce laws against bonded labour

The Hari Welfare Association has shown deep concerns that officials in all districts across Sindh have an indifferent attitude towards the bonded labour laws, and the menace of debt bondage and slavery commonly persisting almost in every sector of the economy and the district of the province.

In a statement issued recently, HWA president Akram Khaskheli said that in out of the 29 districts of Sindh, by 2020 district vigilance committees were constituted in only 12 of them after letters by the secretary of the provincial labour department and the repeatedly request letters were sent by the HWA for the constitution and activation of the DVC under Section 15 of the Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 2015.

Under the law, the district authorities must set up DVCs consisting of elected authorities and representatives of the district administration, bar association, media, social services, and labour departments. According to the act, the role of the DVCs is to advise the district administration on effective implementation of the law, help in the rehabilitation of the freed bonded laborers, and monitor the working of the law. Also, the Rules of Business for SBLSAA of 2015 have neither been shared with the civil society organisations nor notified in the gazette.

Khaskheli said that in 2001, a National Policy and Plan of Action to abolish bonded labour and rehabilitation of freed bonded laborers were announced. Under the Plan of Action, the government committed to eradicating bonded labour, outlining both long- and short-term measures. A fund was also established for the rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. The fund was not utilized. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992 was never implemented.

The DVCs were formed in a few districts in Sindh under the Act of 1992. Under the new law (the Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act), only 12 DVCs have been notified by 2020, including Badin, Dadu, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan,

Korangi, Kashmore, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Naushehro Feroz.

However, these remained inactive. Research also indicates that both before and after the enactment of the law, bonded labourers were still being released under the habeas corpus petitions commonly filed by relatives of bonded laborers or representatives of human rights groups. From 2013 to 2019, across the province, 5,639 bonded labourers were released. In all cases, the police had raided the landlords’ property on the orders of courts and produced peasant family members before the court. In all cases, landlords were not arrested by the police, and no cases were lodged against them under the Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 2015.

Furthermore, in not a single case was the role of DVCs was reported in districts where DVCs have been constituted. The ILO’s Committee of Experts on C029 had asked the government to provide details of cases lodged under the SBLSAA of 2015, trials and prosecution. However, the government does not have these details, indicating a lack of documentation and transparency.

The implementation of the bonded labour laws (whether national or provincial) has remained a serious challenge and a grave issue. Besides many other provisions, the role of the DVCs is crucial. The functionality and performance of the DVCs is another serious concern. In 2020, civil society organisations continued to urge the Sindh government to form the DVCs and activate them through the provision of the required funds and technical support.

In 2020, he said, the HWA wrote letters to deputy commissioners and the deputy director labour of Sindh, urging them to constitute the DVCs. Khaskheli said that the HWA also sent request letters to the district and sessions judges. However, the HWA did not receive any response from the officials.

The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) had adopted replies in 2019 from the Government of Pakistan, which were submitted because of CEACR’s comments and recommendation linked to Convention No 29. The committee had urged the GoP to continue to take effective measures to end bonded labour in the country.

Concerning the DVCs, the committee had noted the GoP had said that it was impossible to monitor bonded labour practices through the routine inspection procedure. Therefore, DVCs were set under the provincial related labour laws. The committee stated that in Sindh, a new law had been enacted on bonded labour (the SBLSAA 2015), under which the DVCs had to be re-constituted.

Interestingly, the committee did not notice that the SBLSAA is the same law as of 1992. Furthermore, after the lapse of six years, the rules have still neither been framed nor notified. The committee was informed that Sindh had constituted only seven DVCs. MPAs, MNAs, bar association representatives, media persons, district administration, labour department, and NGOs were the members.

Furthermore, the ILO’s Committee of Experts on C029 had asked the government to provide details of cases lodged under the SBLSAA of 2015, including the reports of the trials and prosecution. However, the government has not made these details public. In 2020, the Sindh government did not take any step to rehabilitate thousands of families living in many Hari camps in Sindh.

The HWA has urged the provincial government, the district authorities and the district and session judges to play their part in implementing the SBLSAA and activation of the DVCs so that the menace of bonded labour could be eradicated from every sector of the economy.