KARACHI: In observance of the 138th anniversary of the Chicago martyrs, hardworking individuals from all over the city, including men, women, children, and transgender persons, displayed their numbers and voiced their complaints by bringing out red banners. They requested a living wage rather than a minimum salary, denouncing the policies of the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as “anti-worker policies.”
The largest assembly took place on Wednesday at Regal Chowk and proceeded towards the Karachi Press Club in the shape of the Mehnatkash Rally, which was coordinated by the Home-Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) and the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF).
In support of the Gaza community, they were also flying Palestinian flags this year.
As they marched forward, some raised the red and Palestinian flags in the air, while others made bandanas out of them to cover their perspiring brows. Although the laborers were accustomed to a difficult life, it was a hot day.
Ironically, the inspirational song that played throughout, urging laborers to demand their rights, also served as a source of inspiration. The song was taken from the classic Indian film Mazdoor. It was discovered that not even a single notable song written for laborers in this nation exists.
During her speech, comrade Zehra Khan, the leader of the HBWWF, said that although 138 years since the campaign for workers began in Chicago, Illinois, in 1886, not much had changed for the better for workers. “Here, the minimum monthly wage is currently Rs32,000, yet many firms don’t even give their underprivileged employees that much money. Our demands are to raise the minimum wage to at least Rs50,000 and consider raising it to a living wage, which according to our estimates is Rs74,000 in these inflationary times. The government, she said, is determined to make workers unemployed in the name of privatization, not to protect them.
“Around 178 entities were privatized for a total of six billion dollars; most of them are now closed, and it is unknown where the money that was obtained from their privatization went,” the speaker stated.
Although establishing an eight-hour workday was the primary goal of the May Day movement many years ago, according to NTUF Central General Secretary Nasir Mansoor, 90% of workers still put in 12 to 16 hours a day at work today.
Less than 1% of Pakistan’s 8.5 million workers currently take use of trade union benefits. The proportion of trade unions in the private sector is only half of that. Approximately 62% of our labor force is employed in the industrial and service sectors, which account for 84% of all national production, or $285 billion. Ninety-five percent of these employees don’t even have appointment letters. The illegal contractual practice of recruiting workers persists in Pakistan notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s judgment. Additionally, these workers do not have access to social security or pension benefits,” he stated.
The policies of international lenders, particularly the IMF, according to Labour leader Rafique Baloch, have turned millions of people’s lives into a living hell. He stated, “They face inflation, price increases, unemployment, and diseases.”
Prices for food, medications, and utilities have increased beyond the means of the majority of people. Commercialization exists in healthcare, education, and services, he continued.
According to Fatima Majeed of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), the government does not even recognize fishermen as employees. She remarked, “We also have rights, but we don’t even get social security.”
Azam Kakar of the Pakistan Paper Union, Iqbal Abro and Himat Phulpoto of the Textile General Workers Union, Khaliq Zadran of Awami Huqooq, Bakht Zameen of SITE Labour Forum, comrade Ramzan Memon and Shahina Ramzan of the National Awami Party, and vice chairman of the HRCP, Qazi Khizar, were among the other attendees of the rally.
KPC media workers seminar
On Labor Day, the Karachi Press Club (KPC) hosted a conference on the subject of “Economic exploitation of media workers.”
The primary guest of the event, former Senate Chairman and senior PPP politician Mian Raza Rabbani, addressed the seminar, claiming that the government takes advantage of journalists. “Wage board awards are not implemented, trade unions have become weak, and the state has eliminated the power of media workers under a well-thought-out plan,” he claimed.
“Trade unions were actively involved in the past, and even during the Ziaul Haq era, two significant forces arose in the form of labor unions and student unions. These forces were subsequently outlawed and stifled by a number of laws, some of which were even unavoidable by succeeding administrations,” he stated.
Regarding media employees, he stated that, regrettably, there were currently just three or four unions operating in the sector.
Speakers included Mahnaz Rahman of the Aurat Foundation, secretary general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists A.H. Khanzada, senior journalist and commentator Mazhar Abbas, secretary general of the KPC Saeed Sarbazi, and secretary Shoaib Ahmed.
“Trade unions were actively involved in the past, and even during the Ziaul Haq era, two significant forces arose in the form of labor unions and student unions. These forces were subsequently outlawed and stifled by a number of laws, some of which were even unavoidable by succeeding administrations,” he stated.
Regarding media employees, he stated that, regrettably, there were currently just three or four unions operating in the sector.
Speakers included Mahnaz Rahman of the Aurat Foundation, secretary general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists A.H. Khanzada, senior journalist and commentator Mazhar Abbas, secretary general of the KPC Saeed Sarbazi, and secretary Shoaib Ahmed.
