The labour laws of Pakistan are severely outdated and lack the ‘rights-based’ approach. They do not cover even the basic human rights and particularly have nothing on the gender issue. These laws are redundant and older than Pakistan itself.
Despite that fact that Pakistan has ratified the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as well as the C100 Equal Remuneration Convention 1951, C111 Discrimination Emplacement and Occupation Convention 1958, discrimination against working women remains rampant around the country.
The state is obligated to promote and ensure equal remuneration for men and women workers.
This instrument is critical in Pakistan where the traditional social role does not allow women the freedom to take up employment and there is no wide sphere for employment opportunities. But following Pakistan’s commitment to gender mainstreaming, implementation of this convention is vital.
Protection against Harassment at the Workplace Act 2010 and Criminal Law Amendment Act 2009 are two pieces of legislation adopted last year that deal with sexual harassment. The former is quite wide and covers both regular and contractual employees and include ‘employers’ which may or may not be incorporated. It also has a wide and encompassing definition of harassment. It lays down procedures on how to deal with any such case.
Home-based women workers, women in agriculture are all unable to avail any contractual protection of their basic employment. This includes contacts with intermediaries, as well as the actual industries themselves.
According to a report, job security is a huge problem in Pakistan. Alongside the existing obligations, Pakistan should commit to undertaking better reform in providing protection to its workers. It should also ratify C158 Termination of Employment Convention, 1982. This convention addresses some of the vital issues relating to job security. Whilst revising and redrafting the current law, the state should focus on the rights contained in such and other ILO conventions. This convention applies to all branches of economic activity and all employed person.
The Factories Act 1934 deals especially with factories under its Section 6, wherein it is declared that the provincial government may, by order in writing, direct that the different departments or branches of a specific factory shall be treated as separates factories for all or many off the purposes of this Act. No adult workers shall be allowed or required to work in a factory for more than nine hours in any day. No exemption for the provisions of Section 36 may be granted in respect of any woman and no women shall be allowed to work in a factory except between 6 am and 7 pm, provided that if the employers arranges transport facilities, a woman with her consent may work up to 10 pm in two shifts.
As per Section 6 of the Factories Act 1934, the provincial government has the power to separate a department for men and women. However, this has not been done. With the Finance Bill 2006, women’s working hours, specifically in the night has been increased on the basis of two shifts and the condition of provision of transport. This is highly discriminatory on different levels.
International laws have spelt out that women should not be mandated to do night work, especially during and after pregnancy. It is recommended that alternative day arrangements be made for women.
Maliha Zia Lari, an expert on gender laws, says that this is a huge problem in Pakistan. “Working hours and night work is often not voluntary as the threat of dismissal is often used in order to ensure compliance,” she adds.
Employers usually violate the necessity of provision of ‘safe’ transport for women, leaving women vulnerable as they need to either use public transport late at night or find private transport. In a country with a high incidence of violence against women, especially sexual violence and sexual harassment, this allows women labourers to be continuously exposed to different forms of violence and harassment.
Night timings will result in conflict between work and home life, also resulting in family disputes as many men do not allow their women to be out of their home till late night. These are also in contravention of the concept of ‘decent work’ by not allowing workers adequate time for leisure.
It is necessary for Pakistan to ratify C171 Night Work Convention 1990, which is an updated convention pulling together the most fundamental aspect from earlier conventions. It defines the term of ‘night worker’ as an employed person, whose work requires performance of a substantial number of hours and night work which exceeds a specified limit. It then proceeds to provide the necessary protection of health and other rights of this person including regular health assessment before and during taking up such assignments; provision of first and kits and arrangement of transport.
This convention specifically takes up the issue of women and night work. It obligates that measures should be taken to find an alternative to night work for women before and after childbirth, for a period of at least 16 weeks of which at least eight weeks shall be before and expected date of childbirth; for additional periods in respect of which a medical certificate is produced stating that it is necessary for health of the mother or child, during pregnancy.
Pakistan is in fact a signatory to C81 Labour Inspection Convention, 1947. This convention, like others is clearly being violated under the current situation. The convention secures enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work and protection of workers.
However, in Pakistan, labour inspections have been halted in Punjab. In other provinces, they are irregular and often corrupt and side with the employers, thereby not being able to provide an unbiased and proper evaluation. There are no women inspectors not are any inspectors trained and specifically do not to understand gender specific needs.
According to a research conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research Centre, there is a severe lack of space for women in factories. They do not have separate eating or sitting areas or kitchen. No protective gear is provided to women including goggles, masks and gloves. No first aid facilities are provided; this is relevant with the reference to night work where international standards demand the provision of medical care, especially at night.
There is need to implement existing law regarding labour on women workers. There is also the need to make new laws to protect rights for industrial, home and agricultural workers. It is high time that this is done, especially when labour laws have become a provincial matter. The provinces should now come forward and make news laws and implement the existing ones.
