Trade unions in Karachi declare workplace safety situation critical — Dawn
In Karachi, Pakistan, the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) held a seminar on occupational safety and health in the workplace. The event at the Karachi Press Club took place ahead of the 14th anniversary of the fire at a factory in the Baldia Town area, which killed 260 workers and injured dozens, Dawn reports.
Participants began the seminar with a minute of silence for the infants who died last month in a fire at the nursery of the Mother and Child Health Care Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
Trade union statements
NTUF representative Nasir Mansoor said that around three million people die at workplaces worldwide every year. According to him, industrial enterprises, mines, shipbreaking yards and other workplaces in Pakistan remain unsafe for workers. Among the problems, he cited recurring fires, equipment accidents, exposure to toxic substances, unsafe buildings, inadequate ventilation, a lack of protective equipment and fatal incidents in mines.
Aqib Hussain of the J&P Coats Workers Union said that the Ali Enterprises tragedy was not the last such case. According to him, during fires, workers are again trapped inside buildings and die from fire or suffocation, while fire engines arrive late.
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Bashir Mehmudani of the Gadani Shipbreaking Workers Union said that the situation there had not improved after the 2016 disaster. Railway workers' union representative Shakeel Awan, in turn, said that statements by politicians and ministers about protecting workers go no further than documents.
Mechanisms for protecting workers
Zehra Khan of the Home-Based Women Workers Federation stressed that industrial disasters should not be called merely accidents if enterprises lack emergency exits, proper fire safety systems, protective equipment or gas monitoring systems in mines. She also said that factory owners cut costs by neglecting staff safety.
Khan named the Pakistan Accord, global framework agreements, International Labour Organization standards, OECD recommendations, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the EU framework on corporate sustainability due diligence as important mechanisms for protecting workers. According to her, the Pakistan Accord provides for independent factory inspections, remediation of identified shortcomings, transparency and effective grievance mechanisms. M. Jameel, a representative of the Baldia Town Factory Fire Victims Association, said that strict enforcement of occupational safety standards is necessary for justice for the victims.
