55-year-old Khurshid Masih sits on the steps outside the Labour Department office in Faisalabad. He has been making rounds of the compensation commissioner’s court for over a year, seeking justice for his son. His son, 18-year-old Rawal Masih, died on April 17, 2024, after falling into a blazing furnace while working at a brick kiln.

“When I went to collect my son’s body, they forced me to place my thumbprint on blank papers before handing over his charred remains. They didn’t want me to pursue legal action,” says Khurshid.

Initially, the kiln owner promised financial assistance. Later, he filed a case in the Compensation Commission to avoid payment. “Since then, I have been running from pillar to post,” says Khurshid, frustration visible on his face.

According to Baba Latif Ansari, chairman of the Labour Qaumi Movement, Faisalabad, the compensation commissioner had ruled in favour of Rawal Masih’s family, ordering a payment of Rs 500,000. However, the kiln owner appealed the decision. “The kiln owner hired a senior official from the Punjab Bar Council as his lawyer. Since then, every court hearing has been adjourned without a verdict,” says the labour leader.

Baba Latif says that, due to collusion and inefficiency within the Labour Department, hundreds of similar cases involving injured or deceased workers remain unresolved for years.

When contacted for their comments, both Director Labour (West) Ghulam Shabbir Kalyar and Director Labour (East) Ghazanfar Ali Shah did not respond.

Compensation Commissioner Yasir Hayat said that an order for payment was issued last year, but compensation wasn’t disbursed due to pending appeal. “These are civil cases. Unfortunately, there is no time limit set in law for their conclusion. The process can drag on indefinitely, often to the benefit of employers,” he says.

In response to a question about the number of pending cases, the commissioner says that he is not allowed to disclose such data following a directive from the Lahore High Court.

According to the Baba Latif Ansari, more than 700 cases are currently pending across the two Compensation Commission offices in Faisalabad. He says 80 percent of those have been unresolved for three years or more. The Faisalabad Labour Court is dealing with 887 active cases, more than 30 percent of which date back between five and fifteen years.

Under the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1923, workers employed in factories, industrial units and commercial enterprises are legally entitled to compensation in case of injury as well as medical treatment, disability benefits (partial or total), or a lump sum/ pension for the legal heirs in the event of a fatal workplace accident.

According to the Labour Department’s Manual of Inspection and Evaluation, the purpose of establishing the Compensation Commissions was to provide timely compensation to workers injured in workplace accidents without having to navigate the regular courts. However, due to poor implementation of the law, families of workers who die in such incidents are often left in dire conditions.

Many workplace fatalities are never formally recorded. As a result, the affected families are deprived of government assistance and compensation legally owed by the employers. Data obtained from Rescue 1122 reveals that, between January 1, 2023, and April 30, 2025, a total of 343 workplace accidents occurred in Faisalabad. These incidents resulted in 162 workers being injured and 49 deaths.

A joint report by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development and the International Labour Organisation on occupational safety and health acknowledges that Labour Departments have failed to accurately track workplace fatalities.

According to the report, between 2020 and 2022, 86 workers’ deaths were recorded in the Punjab. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 44 fatalities were documented in 2017 and 18 in 2022. Balochistan recorded 39 workers’ deaths between 2017 and 2022. Notably, no official data was available for workplace fatalities in Sindh during this period.

According to Rai Yaseen Kharl, deputy director of the Labour Department Faisalabad, the biggest obstacle to compensating the families of workers who die in workplace accidents is not the inadequacy of existing laws, but ingrained societal attitudes. “There’s certainly room for legal reform,” he states, “but the real issue is that the society is simply unwilling to give workers their due.”

He says under current laws the Social Security Department provides a funeral grant of Rs 25,000 to the families of deceased workers. In addition, the Labour Department disburses Rs 800,000 as a death grant. The employer is required to pay Rs 500,000 as compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.

If the employer admits liability and deposits the compensation with the Compensation Commissioner, the payment to the legal heirs is prompt. “But in most cases, employers try to avoid payment. Sometimes they deny that the deceased was ever employed by them,” he says. “Rs 500,000 is a meagre amount in any case,” he says.

Labour leader Niaz Khan adds that the process of claiming death compensation is so complex, slow and burdensome that 99 percent of the affected families eventually give up. “Even when a compensation cheque is issued, it’s not uncommon for grieving families to be forced to pay bribes to officials within the Labour Department to receive the money.”

He notes that, under the procedures established by the Punjab Workers Welfare Board, it is mandatory for the deceased worker to have been registered with the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution and employed at a factory registered under the Factories Act, 1934. “In practice, most workers lack these formal registrations,” he says. “Due to lax enforcement by labour inspectors, employers often don’t issue employment contracts or social security cards to their workers.”

Khan points out that the burden of navigating the legal maze and securing compensation falls entirely on the shoulders of the deceased worker’s family. “There is no formal mechanism to hold employers accountable. Unless the government takes a proactive stance alongside amending laws, the protection of workers’ rights will remain uncertain.”

He also cites Pakistan’s large informal economy as a major reason behind both the frequency of workplace fatalities and delays in compensation payments. “Workers in the informal sector are deprived of safe working environments, protective gear and social security benefits, all of which are their legal entitlements,” he says.

According to the Decent Work Country Programme Pakistan 2023–2027 by the International Labour Organisation, 72.5 percent of Pakistan’s total labour force is engaged in the informal economy, comprising 73 percent of all employed men and 65.5 percent of employed women.

The report highlights that 2.7 percent of workers in Pakistan suffer workplace injuries or accidents annually, meaning that on average, every 37th worker is affected by a work-related injury or incident each year. Only 9.2 percent of the population has access to some form of social protection, compared to the global average of 46.9 percent.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s 2023 report on Occupational Safety and Health also paints a grim picture. It states that compensation or fines paid by industrial employers for workplace fatalities or injuries are negligible. For instance, following a 2014 Supreme Court directive, labour authorities issued over 30 compensation orders against four industrial units in Sheikhupura. None of these orders have been enforced, till date.

The report identifies several causes behind the failure to ensure workplace justice: lack of political will to protect labour rights, inaction by state machinery, and the weakness of trade unions among those. It also emphasises that complex legal procedures often prevent families of injured or deceased workers from receiving the compensation they are legally entitled to. To address these challenges, the report calls for the establishment of a robust national legal and regulatory framework, supported by empowered authorities to ensure compliance and offer legal recourse to workers.

Furthermore, the report urges the Punjab government to implement OSH Councils under the Punjab Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2019, and launch awareness campaigns to strengthen workers’ unions and educate labourers about safety standards. Strengthening trade unions in industrial enterprises is essential not only for collective bargaining but also for ensuring adherence to occupational safety and health standards at the workplace.

The systemic failure surrounding compensation for workplace fatalities is not an isolated incident—it is a reflection of a widespread crisis. With hundreds of cases stuck in legal limbo, weak enforcement of labour laws and a lack of institutional accountability, Pakistan’s most vulnerable workers and their families are left without justice or financial relief.

The gap between legal entitlements and practical enforcement continues to grow, especially in the country’s vast informal sector. If the government is serious about safeguarding workers’ rights, it must urgently reform the compensation system, ensure transparency, empower regulatory authorities and strengthen trade unions. Without these critical changes, the cycle of neglect and exploitation will persist, leaving grieving families not only without their loved ones, but also without the support they deserve.

The writer has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets @naeemahmad876