KARACHI:Members of civil society and trade unions in Pakistan have expressed serious concern over absence of any relief to common people in the federal budget 2019-20, amid growing price-hike and increasing in cost of living in the country.
In a statement, endorsed by various sections of the civil society and trade unions leaders issued here on Tuesday the activists demanded to make the budget pro-people by providing noticeable relief to common people so they can live a decent life. Those who have endorsed the statement included Karamat Ali (Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Nasir Mansoor (National Trade Unions Federation), Ms. Zehra Khan (Home based Women Workers Federation), Asad Iqbal Butt (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan), Habibuddin Junaidi (Sindh Labour Solidarity Committee), Liaqat Sahi (State Bank of Pakistan Democratic Workers Union), Saeed Baloch (Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum), Usman Baloch (senior trade union leader), Ms. Mahnaz Rahman (Aurat Foundation), Ms. Anis Haroon (Women Action Forum), Ms. Farhat Parveen (NOWCommunities), Zahid Farooq (Urban Resource Centre), Naghma Shaikh (Human Rights Defender), Mir Zulfiqar Ali (WERO).
The statement pointed out that Pakistan’s economy is marked by inequality. For many decades now, Pakistan’s poor have not benefitted much from growth in national income. For every 100 rupees increase in national income the richest 10% get 37 rupees and the poorest 10% get 3 rupees. However, when a crisis strikes, it is the poor who pay the highest cost.
Pakistan’s economy is now again in the crisis and has to go to the IMF for the 22nd time. It has had to go to IMF because the dollar gap is too large. The gap is large because Pakistan has opened the doors for imports wide. All the luxury goods that the rich want to use is imported. High taxation has caused many industries to close – reducing exports and employment. High imports and low exports have caused the dollar to become expensive: from Rs 105 to one dollar to more than Rs. 155 to one dollar. This is called devaluation of the rupee. As the dollar becomes expensive, all imports also become expensive. If oil become expensive trucking costs also becomes expensive. And so on. The result is that prices rise – inflation! They demanded to end the IMF programme as the country’s economy is not in a position to sustain its conditionalities.
Also the government’s non-development expenditure – particularly civil administration and defence expenditure – has kept rising. Partly, it has tried to reduce the deficit by cutting development expenditure. And partly, it has printed money to fill the gap. The result is that prices rise – inflation!
The poor is paying the price for the rich refusing to give up imported luxury goods. The poor is paying the price for the rich refusing to pay income and wealth taxes. The poor is paying the price for the government refusal to reduce its non-development expenditure. The poor is paying the price for the government cutting development expenditure.
Will the poor sit back and let their lives and the lives of their children ruined? Or will the poor raise its voice and mobilize to fight for their rights?
The federal government has announced Rs. 17,500 as monthly minimum wages for unskilled workers. It is unclear on what basis these wages are fixed. The Minimum Wages Boards in provincial governments should have evolved a method to ascertain the minimum wages. Currently there is a wide gap between the necessities baskets calculated by the government and the living wages, needed for living a decent life. The civil society has been demanding to increase the minimum wages to at least Rs. 35,000 for a decent living of a worker’s family.
Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where land reforms are not carried out in a practical manner, which has made majority of population living in rural areas landless and pauper. In the past some efforts were made and a law was passed by the National Assembly in 1977, but the lands reforms remained incomplete. The government always takes refuge behind a verdict by Supreme Court Shariat Appellate Bench in Qazalbash case, which had declared land reforms “un-Islamic.” Although a review petition is still pending before Supreme Court of Pakistan, no effort has been made by the government to provide peasants a right to land to earn their livelihood.
We demand the government to distribute state land among landless peasant families at the rate of seven acres per family so they can support their families in an honorable manner.
Over 2.5 crores of children are unable to go to schools because of non-availability of schools, teachers or school buildings across Pakistan. Constitution’s Article 25-A assures that every child of the age between 5 to 16 years would be provided free and compulsory education but no serious effort has been made on part of the government to ensure that such a large of non-school-going children be sent to schools. We demand to increase education budget so every child in the country is able to get education in government schools.
We welcome the present government’s announcement to include Social Protection into Fundamental Rights section of the Constitution, which is presently existed in Chapter 2 (Principles of Policy). The Principle are regarded as being subject to the availability of resources.
According to Article 29 (3) of Principle of Policy every year, the President in relation to the affairs of the Federation, and the Governor of each Province in relation to the affairs of his Province, shall cause to be prepared and laid before the Parliament or, as the case may be, the Provincial Assembly, a report on the observance and implementation of the Principles of Policy, and provision shall be made in the rules of procedure of the National Assembly and the Senate or, as the case may be, the Provincial Assembly, for discussion on such report. But since implementation of the Constitution in 1973, no President or Government has prepared or presented such reports on Principles of Policy. We demand the President and Governors of all four provinces to present such reports on implantation of Principles of Policy in the respective elected house.
We also demand provision of social security services to all the citizens of Pakistan (except for government employees who receive health facilities and pensions) on universal basis as these services are currently available to only private sector registered workers with provincial Social Security Institutions, Employees Oldage Benefit Institution and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF).
The government has withdrawn the zero-rated facility of five-exporting industries including textiles, leather, carpets, surgical goods and sports goods, which may cause closure of the manufacturing units of these goods across the country, thus rendering hundreds of thousands of workers. We demand the government to restore the zero rated facility of export industries and devise a mechanism for efficiently collection of taxes.