ISLAMABAD: Inclusion of women and the youth in the much-needed social dialogue is the need of hour and is prerequisite for ensuring decent work in Pakistan.
This was stated by the experts on Wednesday at a roundtable, ‘Agenda Setting for Social Dialogue on Decent Work in Pakistan,’ on the third day of 25th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and jointly held alongside UNESCAP’s 6th South and Southwest Asia High-level Political Forum and Policy Dialogue on SDGs. The 4-day conference is being held in Islamabad from 5-8 December 2022.
Dr Rabia Razzaque from International Labour Organization (ILO Pakistan) said that social dialogue is an end and means to end in itself to improve decent work conditions. Rubina Jamil, General Secretary of All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF), blamed the absence of trade unions for poor communication between employees and employers thus leading to poor workplace conditions.
She pointed out that the European Union (EU) guidelines pertaining to women under GSP+ are not being implemented despite female labour dominating garments and textile sector. “We’ll have to take chambers of commerce on board on this issue to ensure rights of women workers,” she said, adding that the government, trade unions and civil society will have to work together to promote the rights of labours.
Khalid Mehmood, a labour court lawyer, said the country lacks an enabling environment for masses to organize themselves at different levels, thus hindering social dialogue. He stressed the need for strengthening democratic norms for holding an effective social dialogue. Syed Nazar Ali, Secretary-General of Employer’s Federation of Pakistan (EFP) said social dialogue is the key to consensus development, which is possible by promoting democratic norms and freedom of expression.
Noor Zaman, the Chairman of National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), said that the establishment of work council is mandatory as per law and is crucial in the absence of trade unions. He further said that NIRC is working to come up with legislation to ensure decent work and ensure registration of informal sector. He stressed the need for ensuring female representation in trade unions.
Zahida Parveen Mughal, Secretary for Women Workers Alliance, said that women participation in workforce is rising with diverse employment opportunities, but there still remains the need to increase awareness on employment opportunities, knowledge of laws and increasing representation of women in federations and unions.
Saad Muhammad, Deputy General Secretary of Pakistan Workers Federation, stressed the need for strengthening youth representation in trade unions. He said lack of awareness among youths on workers’ laws and forums must be focused. He suggested that basic labour laws should be incorporated in the curriculum to improve understanding and awareness. Arooma Shehzad, General Secretary of Domestic Workers Union, said that inclusion and true representation of all stakeholders, which is a prerequisite for social dialogue, must include domestic workers.