The labour force surveys carried out in Pakistan from time to time reveal that an overwhelming majority of people are employed in the informal sector. They are often employed through contractors, work on daily wages or on piece rates, do not have appointment letters or job security and can face termination from job any time.

This is as true for jobs in low-paying sectors, such brick kiln work and industrial labour as well as business and manufacturing concerns in urban centres.

Apart from minimum wage and security, they are also deprived of the benefits offered by different government institutions to the registered workers. Though a few organisations offer benefits to their regular employees from their own funds, most workers in the private sector depend on assistance from state departments.

To start with, one can take the case of Employees’ Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) that pays pension to workers who have worked for a particular period of time in privately-owned institutions. EOBI has been a federal subject though it is at the centre of a controversy about its likely devolution to the provinces.

There is strong opposition to its devolution on the ground that due to the migratory nature of workers in the private sector, it would become next to impossible for them to claim EOBI benefits if they move to a province other than where they have worked. Under the existing system, all the workers registered under EOBI are served by the institution at the central level and they can access benefits from anywhere in the country.

Shaukat Chaudhry, deputy general secretary, Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) tells TNS that EOBI registration is the right of every person who falls under the definition of workman. But it is denied to a majority because one must have an appointment letter to qualify for it. He says the issue is that the trend of employing workers directly has given way to hiring of workers for limited time period through contractors.

Secondly, organisations do not declare the exact number of employees working for them and get a small percentage of them registered with the EOBI. This, he says, is done in collaboration with the concerned labour department officials who do not bother to properly inspect these establishments. He questions as to how is it possible that a factory employing 500 people can register only 50 or so and remain unnoticed by the concerned officials?

Chaudhry says that deduction has to be made against the existing minimum wage amount but, currently, it is linked to Rs8,000 that was the minimum wage a long time ago. He says even in this situation, 6.478 million people are registered with EOBI from all over the country and 0.8 million of them are getting pensions. "All these expenses are covered by the contributions coming from the workers and the government is not sharing any funds from its resources. EOBI simply registers eligible workers," he adds.

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The situation over time has worsened because workers, whether they belong to the formal sector or the informal sector, cannot organise and bargain for their rights. There are no fixed timings, no minimum wages, no social security cover, no safety from physical torture and sexual abuse, no weekly offs or national holidays and so on. Whoever raises a voice, loses job.

Khalid Mahmood, Director, Labour Education Foundation (LEF), believes social security cover is the right of every worker regardless of the fact that they are working in the formal sector or the informal sector. Registration with social security institutes in the provinces, he says, entitles workers and their families to avail health and education services free of cost. "There are hospitals and dispensaries managed by social security institutions but only for the registered workers. Similarly, educational expenses, including those on acquiring professional degrees is borne by these institutions. But the discouraging fact is that a negligible number of workers are registered with social security institutes."

Why workers are not registered with social security institutes? Because the employer has to submit contribution worth of six per cent of the employees’ salary with the concerned social security department. As jobs have become seasonal, employers avoid this and do not issue appointment letters that are a requirement for registration.

Syeda Ghulam Fatima, secretary general, Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) says that registration of brick kiln workers took some pace once the Supreme Court ordered the concerned departments to cover them. Many of them got their CNICs because one cannot be registered without it. She, however, laments that informality is the main reason behind lack of coverage under social security. Home-based workers are difficult to cover as their employers are hard to identify and their contact is only with the middlemen.

The Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) that is financed by employers’ contribution entitles registered workers to a grant in case of death, financial help for daughters’ marriage, money support in case of disability and loss of job due to injury. But to avail this facility one has to have endorsement from employer as well as his commitment to deposit the required contribution which is quite rare.