Present labors and the Master Slave history of Pakistan

A case study of labors in Pakistan

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage
that we move on to better things- Theodore Roosevelt
Introduction:
Labors are the most integral part in uplifting the economy of a country but sadly the labors are
the most avoided entities when it is about pay and compensation.
Time has changed but the situation is somehow the same or even worse. Analyzing the pre
independence and post independence labor conditions of the subcontinent we will see that the
labors were considered as slave and they were treated in a very inhuman way and they used to
work whole life and the only aim of their life was to serve their master and keep him happy.
History depicts that we the Pakistanis were the slaves and the masters were the British people.
Almost everybody is familiar with the problems that we used to face when they degraded,
humiliated and took benefit from us. We were so troubled by their attitude that we claimed
independence to get rid of the cruelty of the British people as they used to treat us as servants
and slaves. We never liked them due to their selfish attitude and were not satisfied with the living
conditions they were offering to us.
In 1947, we got independence and now are a free state but the Master slave history is deeply
rooted inside each one of us, we being an independent and self sufficient person assume
ourselves to be the master of the labors or the poor people who work for daily wages at different
industries, construction or kiln sites in Pakistan.
A construction worker is a tradesman, laborer (by tradition considered an unskilled tradesman),
or professional employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its
infrastructure. By the word Construction worker I mean carpenter, electrician, ironworker,

laborer, mason, plasterer, plumber, pipefitter, sheet metal worker, steel fixer (also known as a
"rodbuster"), and welder. And by Kiln workers I mean the labors making bricks at the kiln sites.

Problem Identification:
In Pakistan about 43% of the total labor workforce in Pakistan is involved in agriculture, 20.3%
in industry and the remaining 36.6% in other services which includes one section of labors who
work whole day in the hot sun to pay off their debt and, many times, their familys debt, which
can be passed down through the generations (Relate it to the history we have). Although this
practice of paying off loans through labor has been outlawed by the Pakistani government since
1992, actual enforcement of the law is not practiced. The second section of labor workforce,
works for fulfilling the basic necessities of life.
In this case study I am concerned with the labor of the both sections. Due to high inflation in
Pakistan the lives of the labors are miserable. They do not have a work life balance in fact I
believe they dont have a life. As there are no work hour limits or any other labor laws, firm
enough to limit the working hours or to flexible the working schedules of these labors. These
workers are Labors till Death. Construction Labors are asked to reach at construction sites
early in the morning and they are made to work whole day without a rest hour or a lunch break,
its a rule here at the work sites, work more to get more.
Child labor according to the Pakistan laws is prohibited but it is not being implemented instead it
is getting very common to have a full time child worker at home to serve the family. Other than
that many kids can be seen in the various commercial areas selling balloons or asking for money
which enhances the functioning of groups that compel kids to work and get money for them. The
law needs to be seriously implemented as the children are the ones who need to get educated and
be preserved from domestic violence in order to lead the country towards growth and prosperity.
Kiln workers condition is even more critical, if you ever got a chance to see that how the
complete families including men, women and small kids work at the kiln sites to make bricks.
These kids do not work in front of flame for their own interest but in order to get better feed for
their family. Even though in Labor Act 2012 child labor is unlawful but still it is being practiced
openly in our country. The kiln workers are compensated as under:

Brick Layer ordinary

Rs:888 per thousand Bricks

Special Brick layer

Rs.1050 per thousand Bricks

Gutka Brick Layer

Rs:1050 per thousand Bricks

Tiles Layer

Rs.1050 per thousand Bricks

Nikasi Wala

Rs:223:25 per thousand Bricks

Donkey Man

Rs: 289 per thousand bricks

Rehra Wala

Rs.289 per thousand bricks

Source: Punjab Gazette (Extra ordinary) September 2014

I have witnessed a lot of sites where labors are working without safety gadgets moving the heavy
materials, steels and metal rods with such pathetic pulleys, the wooden stairs, most of you surely
have witnessed at the construction sites where labors carrying heavy equipments, bags of cement
or machinery through such dangerous stairs. It is not wrong to say that a labor in Pakistan daily
put his life on stake when he arrives at the construction site. Why cant we be just human enough
to lessen the time and enhance the wages of the labor working in the hot sun whole day without
any gadget or the safety equipment?
It is heartbreaking to know that the Labor act of Pakistan doesnt even talk about the conflict of
rights of the people. Conflicts are characterized into two sections: Conflict of rights and conflict
of interests. Conflict of rights includes the right of an individual to live, safety, security and
belongings. Right of

safe work environment, proper sanitation, clean drinking water and

healthy work atmosphere. Conflict of interest includes pay, wage, salary, grievance etc. The
quote laws are meant to be broken is totally being practices in Pakistan as the stated laws are
not being abided either i.e. the pay or the wages in regard to labors.
Workers working in various areas face the following issues.
1. Long and unlimited hours of work
2. Heavy workload
3. Lack of legal protection
4. Violence and abuse at work, either physical or psychological
5. Forced labor/child labor and trafficking of domestic workers
6. No minimum wage protection and low salaries
7. No labor inspection and law enforcement
8. Weaker collective bargaining position
9. Poor living quarters
10. Insufficient food
11. Lack of privacy
It is really throbbing to know that labor try to manage with such living conditions just to stay
alive in this cruel world as in return of such bravery and remarkable performance at the work
sites they are compensated with very little wage. The current minimum wage in Punjab, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces is Rs. 10,000 per month for unskilled workers while the
minimum wage in Balochistan is still Rs. 9,000 per month. As for the skilled workers, the

Minimum Wage Boards are constituted in every province to recommend wages for workers of
different skill levels and within different industries. The minimum wage rate for unskilled
workers is Rs.12000 per month in the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan as well the
Islamabad Capital Territory. Minimum wage is Rs.15000 per month in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
These minimum wage rates are applicable from 01 July 2014. Minimum wages for semi-skilled
and skilled workers are determined by the Minimum Wage Boards constituted under the
Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1961. The Detailed Minimum Wage notifications for different
industries based in the provinces are issued later by the provincial labor departments.
1st May, the so called labor day is a day when employees at managerial and non-managerial level
gets a paid leave whereas the labors are prone to work sites. On the very recent labor day of 2015
many labors organized street demonstrations, where workers and labor unions protest against
labor repression and demanded for more rights, better wages and benefits. Pakistan has also been
ranked by the 2013 Global Slavery index as having the third highest prevalence of modern-day
slavery. Female kiln workers are among the worst treated. Zakaria Nutkani of Action Aid
explains, Female workers have virtually no rights, as most of them do not even possess a
national identity card, which is a basic document to prove a persons existence in government
records. Nutkani explains further that female workers are often the lowest paid and face neverending work because of additional responsibilities maintaining their households. In your opinion
isnt it a duty of state to ensure best environment for the working of female?
The people in Pakistan are uneducated. Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world
and according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), it is 55 per cent and Pakistan stands at 160th in total countries of the world. The
labors in Pakistan face severe condition because they are unaware of their rights and the duties
and an individual in Pakistan in this era of recession is just trying to satisfy his basic
physiological need to stay alive.
In your opinion how important is it for a labor to be educated and have all documents showing
his/her identity in the rural areas?

Diagnosis and treatment plan:

The labor issues can be resolved by the several actions:

1. Revise the compensation plan according to the Act. Government needs to take affirmative
action to fix the wage of the workers according to the increasing inflation rate so that they
can be happy and can live their lives favorably or implementing on the sections of the act
rightly.
Compensation

Overtime Compensation

In accordance with the section 47 of Factories Act, 1934; if a worker works beyond the stipulated
working hours, i.e., 9 hours a day and 48 hours a week, he is entitled to an overtime pay that is
double the rate of his ordinary pay (200% of the normal wage rate). In seasonal factories,
workers may work up to 56 hours a week.

Weekend / Public Holiday Work Compensation

There is no provision for premium pay for working on a weekly rest day however if an employee
works on a public holiday , he is paid at 300% of the rate of his normal wages (normal wage for
working on public holiday + paid substitute holiday + one day's paid compensatory holiday).
(section 49-I of Factories Act).
2.
3.
4.
5.

Industrial Act revision/improvements.

New labor Policy.
Implementation of labor protection policy.
Proposed occupational safety and health bill that would first time in Pakistan exclusively

deal with the related matters.

6. Legislations dealing with working conditions and work hours/timings.

Case questions:
1. In your opinion are