KARACHI: Industrial workers will begin a campaign next month to ensure the implementation of a minimum wage, do away with the third-party contractual system, and register laborers with social security organizations, according to the Textile Garments Workers Convention.
Workers from several firms in Korangi and the Landhi Industrial Zone attended the convention, which was organized here at the Korangi Industrial Area on Sunday under the sponsorship of the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and the Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF).
During the convention, a nine-member committee was also established to begin the region’s labor rights struggle.
The convention stipulated that all factory workers in the Landhi and Korangi zones must receive appointment letters; all workers must receive inflation-adjusted wages directly into their personal bank accounts; all workers must register with social security and pension funds; factories must do away with the contract system; overtime must be paid double the legal rate; weekly leaves must be provided in addition to wages; and workplaces must be made safe for workers.
In order to eliminate harassment of female employees, it was also required that anti-harassment committees be established and that discrimination against them be ended.
The gathering also demanded that global labor norms and labor laws be applied to the supply chains of multinational fashion firms. It called for the expediting of the labor registration process and the grant of all rights under labor laws to home-based workers.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
