Pakistan: workers, peasants take lead to revive a political tradition

Abdul Khaliq

Lahore, 2nd February 2010

Despite prevailing fear of everyday explosions and suicide bombings across Pakistan, over 10,000 power loom workers and peasants braved their way to Dhobi Ghat ground, Faisalabad on 29th February 2010. Do doubt a marvelous indicator of their commitment to the working class cause. Though much bigger gathering was being expected but under the given scary circumstances, when masses prefer to stay at home, everyone is gripped by fear of suicide bombings, including mainstream political parties, which are evasive to come in the open and organize public gatherings, workers and peasants opted and dared to come out to register their demands in a powerful way. In this apolitical atmosphere, they have revived the much needed tradition of 1970s and 1980s of big political gatherings, when people use to attend such gathering in huge numbers and sit for hours to listen their leaders. Thus the show was successful by many aspects and achieved, to large extent, its objectives of getting working classes together and closer at a united platform in order to forge durable future unity. It conveyed not only strong message of workers-peasants resistance to the neo-liberal policies of the rulers, but also renewed the hope of possibility of collective struggle of the progressive forces in Pakistan. The public meeting, jointly organized by Labor Quami (national) Movement (LQM) and Anjuman Mzareen (Tenant committee) Punjab (AMP) was attended by a large number of right-based civil society groups, movements, alliances, networks, trade unions, left parties, women groups and addressed by their representatives. International delegates from Fourth International (Pierre Rousset) and Socialist Alliance Australia (Simon Butler) also spoke on the occasion and voiced their solidarity with the workers and peasants of Pakistan. Following resolutions, comprising just demands of the working classes of Pakistan was presented, widely circulated and adopted with thundering claps on the occasion: ·        Government should issue social security cards to all the workers forth worth and fix minimum wages of workers at Rs. 15000. ·        Go away with anti-labor laws, restricting formation of new trade unions and stop vindictive actions against the labor leaders. ·        Reinstate forthwith all the workers thrown out of the private enterprises during Musharraf regime and present PPP government. ·        Increase the number of labor courts through effective pro-workers reforms in order to provide cheap and speedy justice to the laborers. ·        Effective measures be taken to end electricity load shedding, which has crippled the power loom industry, rendering thousands of workers jobless. ·        Financial packages be announced for small power loom units, end yarn hoarding to sustain running of power looms and livelihoods of workers. ·        State notification be issued to increase and make wages of all power loom workers at par across the country. ·        End with contract and daily wages system; regularize all employees in state and private sector. ·        Labor laws be strictly implemented, a tripartite (worker-employers-government) conference be called in to devise new labor policy. ·        End the on-going privatization process of state-owned enterprises and halt the privatization plan of Pakistan Railways. ·        Women workers be paid equal wages to that of men workers. Home-based women workers be recognized as workers and counted as skilled labor force. ·        Legislation be introduced to protect the labor rights of the informal sector workers, being exploited at the hands of the middlemen and contractors. ·        Industry status be granted to bangle-making in Hyderabad. ·        Strict implementation of Bonded Labor Act 1992. Bosses be forced to end advance system, act upon government notification regarding payment of just wages at brick kiln factories. ·        Stop unlawful cut on pensions of communication pensioners in Hazara division and ensure repayment of the deductions forthwith. ·        Implement minimum wage law (Rs. 6000) for all the workers across the country and especially in Hattar industry, Hazara Division. ·         Reinstate all the sacked workers of Mardan Takhtby Sugar mills. ·        Effective, meaningful, radical and doable national level agriculture reforms be introduced to end feudal system in the country. All the state owned lands be distributed among landless, local tenants, small peasants and Haris.  Women be given priority in this process. ·        Agriculture lands and their occupation be restored to the tenants of Alipur Chattaha, all illegal cases registered against them be abolished. ·        Tenants tilling state agriculture lands of military farms and military welfare trust farms, since decades be given land ownership rights. ·        Seventh wage Board award for journalists be implemented forthwith. ·        Big city allowance for Faisalabad be announced and High Court Bench in City should be established. ·        Free and quality Education from primary to University level for all, be announced and at least 10 percent of GDP be fixed for education sector. ·        Class-based education system be abolished, uniform syllabus be introduced across the country for all Educational institutes. Technical and scientific education be declared compulsory. ·        Maximum budget for health, free heath facilities for poor and housing for the low income groups be announced. ·        A debt audit commission be formed to investigate into all loan contracts, made with IFIs, sine 1947. Refuse to repay all illegitimate external debts. ·        Military budget be cut and the amount saved thus be spent on social sector. ·        Government should announce at least Rs. 10,000 as unemployment allowance for the unemployed youth. ·        All relevant rules be also introduced for teachers in workers welfare schools and all employees of workers welfare schools be considered as employees of welfare board.  Social security scheme and Old Age Benefits be declared for teachers of these schools ·        Second shift for students be introduced in all the workers welfare schools, upgrading these schools to the status of higher secondary schools. ·        US Drone attacks be halt forthwith, massacres of local innocent population, women and children in the name of war on terrorism be stopped. ·        Provincial autonomy be ensured per 1973 Constitution and appropriate measures be taken to end sense of deprivation among smaller provinces. ·        All out priority-based steps be taken to end discriminatory laws against women and abolish all sorts of violence against women. Exchange marriages, karo-kari and other patriarchal traditions be announced illegal. ·        Rights of Religious minorities, indigenous communities be strictly protected   and all discriminatory laws, including blasphemy laws be abolished. ·        Women be given due representation according to their population in legislative bodies and other institutions at all levels. ·        Local bodies elections be announced forthwith and be held under the supervision of Election Commission of Pakistan. ·        Emergency measures be taken to arrest price-hike, prices of petroleum products and daily items be lowered by restoring state subsidy on the necessary items.