Last Day of Consultation on Bonded Labour

Labour Rights Advocates Call to declare 2010 as ‘The Year of Eradication of Bonded Labour’ KARACHI, April 10, 2010: Peasant workers, civil society activists, scholars, and farmers' rights advocates demanded the government on Saturday to declare 2010 as ‘The Year of Eradication of Bonded Labour’, and implement all the existing laws including the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992 and the ILO Conventions related to the abolition of bonded labour and slavery. Speaking on the last day of the two-day Consultation on ‘Linkages between Land Rights, Food Security and Bondage’ organized by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) at the PILER Centre, Karachi, civil society activists pointed out that under the Article-3 of the Constitution of Pakistan, it is the state’s responsibility to bring all kinds of exploitation to an end. They stressed that bonded labour is a “severe kind of exploitation.” They urged the Supreme Court (SC) to take notice of this grave violation of human rights and review the existing laws, including the Tenancy Act. “The Parliament should strike down all laws that are in conflict with the Constitution of Pakistan.” The second day of the two-day Consultation on ‘Linkages between Land Rights, Food Security and Bondage’ saw participation from a large number of human rights activists, labour rights representatives, academicians and civil society leaders. Executive Director PILER, Karamat Ali, Senior Economist Aly Ercelan, Civil Society Activist Adam Malik, Sindh Rural Partners Organisation Chairperson Zahida Detho, Lawyer Munaza Hashmi and Advocate Faisal Siddiqi chaired and participated in the panel discussions that covered different aspects of the issue of bonded labour and land rights. Speakers at the Consultation observed that the government is providing official land in both urban and rural areas to deserving people under various schemes such as the Goth Abad Scheme etc. However, most people in rural Sindh have not taken advantage of such schemes. “Insecurity of residence is the main cause of bonded labour in Sindh.” The Speakers demand that all the people, living on the lands for decades should be given the legal entitlements to that piece of land “to ensure their right to shelter and security.” The participants also condemned the government‘s proposed scheme for corporate farming under which the country’s agricultural land is planned to be provided to foreign firms with all the facilities for farming. Human rights and labour rights activists demanded that the land should be given to local landless peasants instead, particularly those who are freed from bonded labour through court orders. “Individuals who are freed from bonded labour usually are left with no source of income and livelihood options. It is important to ensure their access to land to facilitate their rehabilitation, and allow them an opportunity to stand on their own feet.” They urged the government to include the provision for the right to unionization in all sectors of the economy, especially the agricultural sector. “It is a practice world-over that all sectors of the labour force, barring the armed forces and the police service, are given the right to unionization. Successive Industrial Relations Acts have prevented a large segment of the country’s labour force, especially the agricultural sector and the informal sector from their due right to form unions and fight for their rights. The upcoming Industrial Relations Act should undo this provision and enable the labour force to access their rights without discrimination.” Sharing their experiences on the occasion, labour lawyers said that most of the bonded workers are released under the Habeas Corpus laws instead of the specific and relevant Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992. Advocate Munaza Hashmi from Multan pointed out that senior lawyers and judges might be unaware of the existence of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992. She said that there are no flaws in the existing laws, but gaps in implementation are keeping a large part of the labour from accessing their rights. Senior lawyer Faisal Siddiqui said that he would soon file a petition in the Sindh High Court for the implementation of the Bonded Labour laws and the formation of District Vigilance Committees in those districts where the bonded labour issue is serious. A civil society activist from Hyderabad, Zulfiqar Shah said that more than 60 per cent of people in the Province of Sindh do not have their own residence. “Most of the peasants are living on the land of big landlords for decades. These landlords frequently use force to push labour to vacate their premises. Due to the absence of ownership rights, these workers are uprooted and rendered homeless.” Dr Christopher from Okara said that the peasants’ movement in Punjab has turned successful as the provincial government has agreed to provide land rights to all peasants of the Province. He said that the farmers have struggled for their land rights since 2000 and currently they are getting the entire crop from their agricultural production, which is an important success. Participants at the Consultation decided to lobby for declaring the year 2010 as ‘The Year of Eradication of Bonded Labour’. They pledged to work together to launch a formal movement to push for land reforms, abolishment of bonded labour and labour rights, and bring these issues to the agenda of the policymakers, the political forces and the legislators. “Democracy must be seen to be delivering on the basic rights of the people, and on bridging social divisions and disparities for it to earn people’s trust and support as a successful system for Pakistan.”