Pakistan Workers Federation PWF’s Workers Convention gave a new life to the declining trade union movement in Pakistan.
On the 12th day of December 2024, the Pakistan Workers Federation-PWF organized a convention in Khairpur Mirs Sindh. The Workers Convention 2024 gathered more than 4000 labour leaders, workers, and activists from various unions of the public and informal employment sector.
Speaking at the convention, Ch. Abdul Rehman Aasi, the President of All Pakistan United Irrigation Employees Federation-APUIEF and the Chairman of PWF, passionately narrated the precarious effect of continuous privatization, which has been the death knell for millions of public sector employees in Pakistan.
The government is keen on privatising the core public services like health, education and water which not only threatens the very existence of thousands of workers but also increased the cost and reduced the quality and availability of these crucial services to the public. Said Ch.Abdul Rehman Aasi
Privatization is a clear war on job creation and workers’ rights, commented Muhammad Azam Faqeer PWF. He also explained that privatization eliminates permanent workers and hires contract workers who are denied their rightful wages, protection, and benefits. He called on the government not to proceed with these policies, stating that further removal of job security will ultimately result in social unrest in the country’s workforce, which is the foundation of public services.
We demand Quality Public Services. Umar Jatak Chairman of All Pakistan United Irrigation Employees Federation-APUIEF urged all unions to fight against these policies and responded categorically that we are with every worker whose source of income is threatened.
The Son Quotta which is also known as the Rule 17-A h was in force for many years to allow the children in workers’ employment to guarantee the family’s financial security whenever the parent retires on medical grounds or dies while in service, thus passing the generational legacy in public services. the move to end this quota is regressive in the harshest terms; Said waqar Ali Bhutto
Union leaders also shared these feelings, whereas Rehmat Ullah, Hamza Ali Jilbani, Khan Muhammad Nizamani, Imtiaz Ali Kuber and others argued that the son quota is a major kind of social justice. They noted that its removal would adversely affect the families vulnerable to job insecurity.
The workers during the PWF Workers Convention strongly weighed in on the government’s move from the standard defined benefit pension scheme to a system where employees and employers made serious cash contributions is a contributory pension system that has seriously caused a lot of public sector workers and retirees untold hardship.
The convention called on the government to return to the defined benefit model which promises employees a reasonable pension. Employers’ federations demanded consultations with trade unions to develop a decent work retirement model that guarantees workers’ support in their old age. “Retirement should not mean poverty,” they concluded, promising to fight policies eroding workers’ financial portrait.
Allah Baksh Dhamra the president of Muthida Irrigation Federation Sindh / Vice President APUIEF presented emergent discussion points on how climate change was increasingly affecting workers especially in areas such as farming and sanitation, and how these workers were directly affected by the environment.
We cannot separate worker’s rights from climate action,” Dhamra’ declared, urging the government to prioritize policies that protect both the environment and the workforce. Labour leaders vowed to amplify their advocacy for climate justice, ensuring that the voices of workers are heard in national and global conversations about sustainable development.
Sanitary workers at workplaces in Pakistan are denied job security, wage delays, and inadequate protection against health hazards, which led us to regard the situation as seriously alarming. “These workers risk lives day and night, cleaning the hazardous waste without protection gear let alone medical benefits,” Said Shaukat Ali Anjum President of PWF/ APLGEF. He further pointed out how recent years have also seen extended erosion of working conditions due to the growing privatization of municipal services has led to more degradation of work by turning permanent work into temporary contracts that pay little and provide no workers’ benefits.
Sanitary workers make our cities clean, comfortable places—they should be embraced, protected, and valued,” Anjum said. However, the PWF along with our sister organizations would persist in representing those workers and striving to force the municipal systems to change for those workers.
