Govt Asked To Ensure Implementation Of Labour Laws In

Women workers on Tuesday asked Labour Department to ensure implementation of labour laws in factories by making inspection system more efficient and gender friendly, to check non-payment of wages and in many cases less than the official minimum wages

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Oct, 2018 ) :Women workers on Tuesday asked Labour Department to ensure implementation of labour laws in factories by making inspection system more efficient and gender friendly, to check non-payment of wages and in many cases less than the official minimum wages.

The workers complain that they work for more than 12 hours instead of 8 hours a day and no over time is paid for their extra work, the workers are not allowed to avail leaves and in case of emergencies, their wages are deducted for availing leave.

Saima Ambreen, labour leader working in a factory said that the provincial labour department, which was responsible for ensuring safe working conditions and health and safety of workers at work places, but the labour inspections system is inadequate as there is a small number of labour inspectors to cover all industries.

It is pertinent to mention here that Women Action for Better Workplaces (WAction), a project of Trust for Democratic education and Accountability (TDEA), shared their report on "Monitoring of Workplace of Women" which spoke about the dismal situation of enforcement of labour laws in the country.

According to the findings, 52 percent workplaces monitored in five cities of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad do not comply with the provision of legal minimum wage to its woman workers, report further revealed that more than 50 percent factories and 30 percent workplaces from private and public sector were not giving paid maternity leave to their women workers.

Sabiha Tarar, a social activist said that the employers and industrial associations should take measures to ensure safe working conditions at the work places and provision of all rights to the workers.

She suggested that there was need to to join hands with the Labour Department as the implementation of the law was not possible until the citizens, civil society, employers and the government collectively make efforts to make it happen. She stressed the need for immediate review of existing labour laws.