Karachi: There were a few good news for labourers in Pakistan on Tuesday after union workers took out rallies to mark the May Day, calling for a pay rise in the wake of rampant inflation.
On the eve of an International day for the suppressed class, millions of labourers continued melting metals into plants, working at brick factories, pushing carts in goods markets and doing construction work at high-rise buildings as usual sans hoping for any government plan which could make a difference.
However, the PPP-led federal government on Tuesday announced increase in minimum wages of labourers to Rs 8000 and 20% hike in their pension, in a bid to ease the worries of Pakistan’s labor force.
The PM Gilani also handed over regular appointment letters to employees of CDA, PTCL and HEC during a May Day function at Islamabad, announcing increase in labourers’ death grant and their children’s wedding expenses.
In their separate messages on the May Day, President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Gilani said their government is striving for betterment of the worker class.
“The present government, following the footsteps of its great visionary leaders, has also taken some important practical steps to improve the conditions of the workers… Pakistan Peoples Party will revive the pledge to uphold the rights of the laborers and the working class and will never abandon them in their struggle.”
Gilani says: “PPP is committed to bringing about a socio-economic revolution in the country in accordance with the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.”
According to Pakistan’s official figures compiled by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the country has a workforce of around 56 million people among a population of 179 million.
On the eve of international Labour Day, labour union workers, carrying placards and banners, shouted slogans during rallies in Lahore, Karachi and other cities, demanding better wages and conditions.
In Pakistan, child labour is also considered to be a social issue spawned by poverty and financial crisis.
Under worst economic conditions, hundreds of thousands of children are employed at automotive workshops, brick kilns and textile units to earn the living for their families.
Pakistan is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which makes mandatory for the state to provide children basic rights such as education, health, safety and security.
But despite the fact, statistical data show that many children in the country continue to be left out, with many children contributing to the country’s workforce as underaged labourers.
The last survey on child labour conducted in 1996 revealed that there were 3.3 million child labourers in Pakistan, out of which 2.4 million (73 per cent) were boys and 0.9 million (27 per cent) were girls, according to a 2010 report.
Current estimates on the actual total number of working children in Pakistan is unreliable and varies widely, and is probably between 2 and 19 million.
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