ILO PAKISTANBi-Annual NewsletterFebruary 2013Issue No. III

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EditorialBoard

Editor: Mr. M. Saifullah Chaudhry, Ph.D. – Senior Programme Officer, ILO IslamabadMembers: Rabia Razzaque, Zaheer Arif, Imran Khan, Sadia Hameed

Country Director’s Message I am very pleased to introduce the third Newsletter of the ILO Pakistan. The recent arrival of the new Director General, Mr Guy Ryder as well as of the new Regional Director for Asia and Pacific, Mr Yoshiteru Uramoto, have brought a reinvigorated enthusiasm among ILO’s constituents and staff. After extensive consultations, Mr Guy Ryder has unveiled an important reform of the ILO, well anchored on the principles of the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization and on the role of the organisation in setting the global agenda on labour, social and economic policy debates. Pakistan, with its 55 million workforce, faces enormous challenges to ensure Decent Work for all in the country. As anticipated in the previous Newsletter, the Government of Pakistan and the employers and workers organisations reaffirmed their commitment to promoting social justice through decent work by signing the Decent Work Country Programme 2, which will pave the way for the action of ILOs constituents until 2015. As a dramatic representation of the Decent Work deficits in the country and, in particular, of the risks linked to the lack of security at the workplaces, in September 2012, an inferno engulfed a garment factory in Baldia Town, Karachi. This tragic industrial accident killed more than 250 workers and rendered 1,200 of them jobless. In solidarity with the victims and in an attempt to alleviate their loss and prevent future similar disasters, ILO Pakistan extended immediate and medium-term support through a range of actions that are reported in this newsletter. Lastly, I would like to thank all partners and colleagues who contributed to the featuring of the stories for the third Newsletter. I am confident that our collective efforts will have a great impact in advancing the Decent Work Agenda in Pakistan.

Shukriya!

Francesco d’OvidioCountry Director

5- Pakistan must ensure Decent Work for its 55 million work force

8- Brick Kiln - Cards for free medical services

11- Supporting the Decent Work initiative in Balochistan

10- Show what we really are: Screening of landmark documentary “Miss Representation” in Islamabad

4- WOMEN - 2% membership in trade Unions

7- Overcoming post conflict economic challenges in the region

2- Joint Statement of Commitment signed to prevent future factory fires

6- Honouring tiny hands at work6- Honouring tiny hands at work

6- Transformation of rag picker into an aspirant future army officer

Mr. Guy Ryder, ILO Director General

Mr Yoshiteru Uramoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific

2 February 2013

Joint Statement of Commitment signed to prevent future factory fires

The Government of Sindh jointly with stakeholders has developed a consensus for action plan to prevent

Baldia Factory Fire like incidents in future. On 6 Dec 2012, almost 300 representatives of employers, workers, government officials, international buyers, civil society, academia, and media deliberated in a day long consultation in Karachi and provided key recommendations for the Plan of Action on Safety and Health at Workplace. The workshop was organized by Sindh Labour Department, Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP), and Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) and the ILO. A “Statement of Commitment” was also agreed and signed by Sindh Labour Department, EFP and PWF to jointly work and promote health and safety at work. Secretary Labour Arif Elahi announced that the Labour Department will launch the Action Plan by early 2013. He said that his Department will not tolerate any slackness in the enforcement of relevant labour laws. ILO Country Director Mr Francesco d’Ovidio said that ILO will provide all technical facilities to the Sindh Labour Department for development and implementation of Plan of Action to promote safety and health at workplace. He said it was unfortunate that many workers lost their lives in single preventable

accidents of factory fire. He passionately appealed to the stakeholders to come together and help prevent such accidents in future. Ms Ingrid Christensen, ILO’s technical expert on occupational safety and health said that factory fires are preventable if right systems, training and response mechanisms are put in place. She made technical suggestions for the workshop participants to deliberate for the improvement of labour inspection system,

establishing an occupational safety and health at work place, and strengthening the work injury insurance schemes to help protect workers. Brother Zahoor Awan, General Secretary, Pakistan Workers Federation, while appreciating the efforts of the Sindh Labour Department and ILO, demanded that workers must be registered and should

Dignitaries at the inaugural session of the Tripartite Conference

Participants in the concluding session

not be considered as machines or tools. Zaki Ahmed, Acting President of Employers Federation of Pakistan also suggested that employers should be made aware of safety related legislations and implication of non-compliance. Mr Kermat Ali, Executive Director PILER suggested the need to help improve the Labour Inspection Systems in the province. The workshop participants in three parallel technical sessions, on Occupational Safety and Health, Labour Inspection, and Work Injury Insurance Schemes, benefited from technical presentations of various resources persons. Subsequently, there were extensive and frank discussions on the respective issue and specific recommendations were also developed. The objective of this tripartite consultation was to help promote safety and health at workplace with the technical support of the ILO. The workshop recommended for Government to strengthen Labour inspection, establishing mechanism to ensure Safety and health at workplace, consider extending Social Security coverage to the informal sector, Government should ensure that employer register their work force under the social Security scheme; and harmonize social security schemes. More than 500 representative of government, employers, workers, civil society, international buyers, academic, and media attended the concluding session. ILO Country Director presented the recommendation of the workshop. The Secretary Labour Sindh, General Secretary Pakistan Workers Federation and Acting President of Employers Federation of Pakistan presented the singed “Statement of Commitment” to the ILO Country Director depicting their will to jointly help promote safety and health at workplace

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Rehabilitation of 400 survivors/ family members of factory fire victims

The ILO Office, Islamabad is supporting the Department of Labour, Sindh in rehabilitating

survivors/ families of the victims of factory fires tragedy of September 11, 2012. Part of this support includes training for employment for family members of victims. A Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) was conducted of 250 victims’ families (500 people) to identify their current skills and education, training needs and match them with training opportunities. The results of the RNA showed that in total 400 women and

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families are receiving training. A total of around 400 members of the victim’s families will benefit from the training and will be linked with Decent Jobs.• Extendtechnicalassistanceonrapidtraining on “Promoting Fire Safety at Workplace” and 25 Labour Inspectors in Sindh were trained. Subsequently these labour inspectors helped enterprises to put in-place Safe Work culture at the work places.• Helpsensitisearound1000employersin various industries in Sindh province to enforce and promote a workplace health and safety culture. • Extendtechnicalsupportinthedevelopment Public Service Message (electronic and print media) and run a media campaign in December 2012 to disseminate these messages. • Technicalsupportwasprovidedtothe Sindh Labour Department to launch a website from where employers can get information on registration with the department, and about ILO’s work on social protection and safe work. This website

(http://www.sindhlabour.pk/), has recorded close to 3000 hits during the first month of launching).

Medium Term: ILO supported the Sindh Labour Department, Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) to organise a conference in December 2012 to develop consensus on developing a Joint Action Plan on Occupational Safety and health. The Consultation was successful and three ILO Constituents signed a “Joint Statement of Commitment” and agreed to develop a joint action plan. The proposed Joint Action Plan will contribute towards:• BuildinginstitutionalcapacityoftheSindh Labour Department to improve efficiency of the labour Inspection. • AwarenessforEmployersOrganizationfor self-regulation • AdvocatefordevelopingaCodeofConduct on OSH by Employers & Workers

ILO response to factory fires in Karachi

The International Labour Organization (ILO) was deeply shocked at the fire accident in a Garments Factory in

Baldia Town Karachi on September 11, 2012 and was concerned to learn of the death of more than 250 workers. This accident rendered 1,200 workers as jobless. The ILO extended its condolences to the families of the victims. In this tragedy, ILO immediately provided support to the victim’s families to help recover from their loss and strengthened the Sindh Labour Department to prevent re-occurrence of such incidents in the future. The ILO has provided following assistance in immediate to medium term period:

Immediate: ILO extended various quick action-support ranging from training needs assessment of members of the victim’s families and to offer them free training scholarships, training of labour inspectors on safety at work, awareness raising of employers on Occupational Safety and Health to help disseminating public service messages through media on workplace health and safety.• Quickneedassessmentofthefamiliesof the victims was carried out, to determine their income loss and the ways to help them recover, to get back on their feet again.• Forskillstrainingscholarships,thefirst batch of 49 members of the victim’s

Family members of factory fire victims receiving skills training leading to employment

Rescuers and fire fighters try to put out the factory fire

men aspire to attend vocational training leading to employment. Over 170 men and 90 women wish to take training in various trades of garment manufacturing. More than 100 women expressed interest in beauty sector trainings. Around 80 women and men want to opt for training in IT particularly in MS office application. According to the results of RNA, garment manufacturing sector emerged as one of the high demand sector for training. Pakistan Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (PRGMEA) expressed interest in supporting the DoL’s efforts for the factory fire families’ rehabilitation, through training and employment support. Before embarking on the training programmes, a forum with 13 employers from various firms was organized to brief them on the results of RNA and training needs; and to have their insights on existing skills gaps and employment opportunities. Capitalizing on identified skills needs by employers, three trades were selected

to start the training programmes in. In partnership with PRGMEA, GE4DE project arranged training programmes for group of 50 (3 women and 47 men) in Garment MachineOperation;QualityControland Assurance and Machine Mechanic at Pakistan Readymade Garments Technical Training Institute (PRGTTI). The programme was launched on November 16, 2012 in the presence of Mr.Arif Elahi, then Secretary Labour Sindh. PRGTTI has been selected for training delivery as

it has been partner of GE4DE in previous skills development project and in the development of competency standards and curricula has shown excellent results in terms of high quality training and decent employment, therefore training is being delivered at PRGTTI, using ILO/GE4DE’s competency based curricula. The faculty of PRGTTI has been oriented in ILO’s TREE methodology and competency based training delivery and assessment. As the outcome of these training courses, 50 women and men will be trained and it is expected that more than 80 per cent of them find decent employment commensurate to their training. A few more skills development programmes in garment manufacturing; IT and beauty sectors are under discussion with Fashion Apparel Design Training Institute (FADIN); Depilex training institute; and vocational training center (VTC) for women Bufferzone

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4 February 2013

WOMEN - 2% membership in trade Unions

Women constitute only 2% membership of the trade unions in Pakistan, this figure does not

even include informal economy of which more than 70% are women. This alarming figure was shared in a training workshop, “Training of trainers in developing women

leadership in trade unions” held at Naran from July 28 to August 8, 2012. The training was jointly organized by Pakistan Workers Federation and International Labour Organization (ILO) as part of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded project ‘Promoting Gender Equality for Decent Employment (GE4DE)’. The training focused on increasing women’s membership, participation and leadership in trade unions through capacity building, increasing their understanding of workers’ rights and the significance of ILO conventions specially those concerning right to freedom of organization and collective bargaining. A total of 24 women workers belonging to 18 trade unions from

both public and private sector participated from different parts of Punjab and KP provinces. The workshop also aimed to create a cadre of women master trainers who on return would train trade union members in their respective organizations and act as change makers. While a large number of women have been joining economic fields their representation in trade unions remains considerably low. Irregular employment, vulnerable working conditions, no formal rights or government protection, low wages, long working hours and high rates of violence at the workplace all constitute aspects of the very difficult situation in which many women labourers find themselves today. One basic reason for this

is that these women remain unorganized and largely unaware of their rights, rendering them unable to demand even elemental protection from the Government and their employers. “There are certain issues which only affect women workers and without their representation in trade unions they are not even discussed”, said Ms Zahida Perveen, master trainer of the workshop and chairperson of women committee of Pakistan Workers’ Federation. Giving a personal example she said, “I joined IESCO in 1990 and at that time there was no separate washroom for women. I was the first to raise a voice for a separate washroom; my female colleagues discouraged me as they thought it would bring a bad name to women workers. After

one year of struggle in 1992, I succeeded in getting a separate washroom for women workers in IESCO”. Mr Zahoor Awan, General Secretary Pakistan Workers Federation at the closing ceremony said, “Pakistan has ratified 34 ILO conventions on labour rights, including conventions related to freedom of association and collective bargaining and right to organise. The best way for women workers to get their rights is to take part in trade unions and eventually assume leadership roles so that their voices are heard and considered when policies are made and action plans are approved”. While addressing the participants at the closing certificate distribution ceremony, Mr Francesco d’Ovidio, Country Director, ILO Pakistan said the developing women

leadership in trade unions is basically about three things — unionism, gender equality and leadership. “We feel that women participation in trade unions and leadership is extremely weak in Pakistan. This is the first initiative of hopefully a long series of trainings and other initiatives in different areas. It is true that Pakistan’s performance of gender inequality index is not so good but there are some good signs like 22 percent of total parliamentarians are women”, he added. The participants developed action plans outlining measures they would take to implement Gender Equality by improving women representation and voice in their respective organizations

Participants of Workshop “Training of trainers in developing women leadership in trade unions” with Mr. Zahoor Awan, General Secretary PWF and Mr. Francesco d’Ovidio, ILO Country Director

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Pakistan must ensure Decent Work for its 55 million work force

The Government, and employers & workers’ organizations in Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to promoting social justice through decent work

In September 2012, at ILO Islamabad office the Government, and employers’ and workers’ organisations in Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to promoting social justice

through decent work. At ILO Islamabad office, the ILO Country Office Director, with the Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, and representatives of the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan and Pakistan Workers’ Federation came together for their first joint Memorandum of Understanding on the 2nd Decent Work Country Programme. The DWCP II outlines key areas of ILO assistance to the tripartite constituents: federal and provincial governments, employers’ and workers’ organization over a six year period. Mr Francesco d’Ovidio, the ILO Pakistan Country Director in his address noted that “Pakistan’s total labour force is almost 55 million, thus making it the 9th largest country in terms of labour force size”. He stressed the need to ensure decent work for all workers, the majority of whom work in the large agriculture and informal sectors. While highlighting the decent work deficits in the country, he emphasized the need to align the labour legislation with the ratified International Labour Standards, remove ambiguities between the federal and provincial labour legislation, and drastically overcome the existence of weak to negligible labour regulation. He also hinted at the sluggish pace of implementation of policies on child labour and bonded labour. Mr d’Ovidio also indicated that the lack of a systematic delivery system of competency-based vocational/technical and employability skills; insufficient coverage of social security system; and poor application of Occupation Safety and health as also contributing to problems for workers, subsequently affecting the productivity of enterprises and the economy.

He thanked the federal Ministry of

Human Resource Development (MoHRD), and provincial Labour Departments, Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and Pakistan Workers (PWF) Federation for agreeing to five broad priorities to promote a) Employment, b) Social protection, c) Promoting Social Dialogue by Strengthening employers’ and workers organizations, d) Application of International Labour Standards, and e) Policy Coherence. He assured ILO’s full support to help the tri-partite constituents to implement the DWCP II priorities in the coming years. Mr Muhammad Ahsan Raja Federal Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development, thanked the ILO for its continued support in Pakistan. He assured the gathering that the Government of Pakistan will continue to fulfill its commitments under the ratified ILO Conventions and coordinate with provincial labour departments to ensure that the benefits of decent work could be extended to all workers. Mr Haji Muhammad Javed, representing Employers Federation of Pakistan, said that employers are contributing towards the growth of Pakistan and also create employment opportunities in the Country. He thanked ILO for helping the employers to continue to promote international labour standards and the productivity. Mr Zahoor Awan, representing Pakistan Workers Federation, highlighted the need to ensure the enforcement of labour legislation that could ensure the workers’ rights but also their safety at the work places. Mr Awan also appreciated ILO for promoting the rights

of workers in Pakistan and its continued support to the cause of workers. The ceremony concluded with the symbolic signing of giant replica of the MOU on DWCP II by all delegates of governments, employers, workers and other stakeholders present at the occasion as sign of their commitment to promote Decent work for all in Pakistan

Ms. Margaret Read Rounds, Programme Analyst, ILO Pakistan, addressing the delegates

Participants with Mr Haji Muhammad Javed, ex-President, Employers Federation of Pakistan, Mr Francesco d’Ovidio, the ILO Pakistan Country Director, Mr Muhammad Ahsan Raja Federal Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Mr Zahoor Awan, General Secretary , Pakistan Workers Federation

6 February 2013

Transformation of rag picker into an aspirant future army officer

The story of Ahmed Raza depicts how small steps can transform young lives from deprivation to hope

in a short period of time. Two years ago Ahmed, as a 9-year-old child from Sukkur who had never been to school, used to collect rags from streets and earn rupees 200 a month. Within a period of 24 months, he has completed his education up to 4th grade at a non-formal education

center, and got admission in class 5 of the local government school. He is now beaming with confidence and dreaming about joining the Pakistan Army when he grows up. Ahmed is one such child among a total

of 7313 boys and girls, between the age of 5-17 years, who are benefiting from ILO’s project in District Sukkur in Sindh Province and District Sahiwal in Punjab Province. This ILO Project “Combating Abusive Child Labour II” is being implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union. Ahmed’s story starts from the streets of Sukkur. Like many other out of school children in Sukkur, Ahmed had no hope for a better future. He never went to school, used to waste time in streets with other children. He belonged to a poor family. His father, Muhammad Nasir, is a small time street vendor selling breakfast and hardly making rupees 7000 a month. In this background ILO, jointly with the support Sindh Labour Department and Sukkur District Authorities, started

Ahmed Raza in his Class

Honouring tiny hands at work

An award ceremony for the National Photo Competition on Child Labour was organized by the ILO in October

2012. Its objective was to highlight the gravity of child labour issue endeavors to address it. The Honourable Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Pakistan, Mr. Lars-Gunnar Wigemark graced the occasion as the Chief Guest of the evening and distributed prizes among the winners. Over 900 entries across Pakistan received by the ILO for its national photo competition on the fight against child labour depicting various aspects of child labour in the competition. The audience included UN officials, employers, workers and the media personnel. A large number of students and members of civil society also showed up to demonstrate their support for eliminating the menace of child in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion His Excellency, Mr. Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said “Comprehensive action against child labour requires a multiplicity of interventions at policy and programme levels and different degrees of involvement and support from a range of institutions as millions of children

in Pakistan are suffering, haplessly, under a system of bonded ”. Ms Margaret Reade Rounds, ILO Officer-in-Charge, at the ceremony, reiterated that one child in the workplace who should be in school is one child too many! A jury, comprising of communications experts, academics, practitioners and ILO technical persons, had earlier reviewed the nominations and selected the best photos in three different categories, namely professionals, students and general public. The 1st prize winner of each category was given Rs 50,000 while 2nd and 3rd prize winners were given cash prizes worth Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively. Certificates of recognition for 20 winners in each category were also awarded. This photo competition was organized under ILO’s project ‘Combating Abusive Child Labour II’ funded by the European Union and launched in the 1st quarter of 2012. (Award winning pictures are published on page 12.) Later, a skit by young children delighted

the audience. The play had an enticing effect on the audience which kept clapping and cheering as the little girls and boys broke into a dance routine at the end of the short theatrical episode. Stage and song performances by children, short documentaries by students of Fatima Jinnah and Islamic University and the showcasing of pictures served to remind the audience that child is a scourge on society, a hindrance to poverty reduction and an obstacle to social justice and must be eliminated

A little girl performing in the award ceremony

EU Ambassador Mr. Lars-Gunnar Wigemark speaking at the award ceremony

R to L - Mr. Sujeewa Fonseka, CTA, ILO Project CACL-II, Mr. Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, EU Ambassador, Ms. Margaret Reade Rounds, OIC ILO Pakistan watching children’s performances

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Consultation to improve Pakistan’s Reporting on Labour Standards

Pakistan is taking steps to streamline its reporting obligation on the ratified International Labour Conventions to the ILO’s Supervisory Bodies. In this regard, a joint action plan agreed by the four provincial Labour Departments in a workshop jointly organized by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) and the ILO held on Dec 18-19, in Bhurban. This action plan will enable the Ministry of Human Resource Development to seek timely reports from the provincial Labour Departments on the reporting against ILO Conventions, discuss the reports with the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations before submitting it to the ILO’s Supervisory Bodies.Mr Muhammad Ahsan Raja Federal Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development , Mr Francesco d’Ovidio, ILO Country Director, Mr K. M. Nauman, President Employers’ Federation of Pakistan, Brother Zahoor Awan, General Secretary Pakistan Worker’s Federation addressed the participants on 18-19 Dec 2012 in Bhurban. Dr. M. Saifullah Chaudhry, Senior Programme Officer, ILO and Mr Faizal Tirmizi, Director to Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave technical presentation. Mr Coen Kompier, Specialist on Labour Standards, ILO Sub-regional Decent Work Team, in a skype call briefed the participants on the reporting requirements by member state.The workshop concluded with an action plan to be followed with clear timelines and action points to improve Pakistan’s reporting on the ILO conventions

From L to R: Mr K. M. Nauman, President Employers’ Federation of Pakistan, Mr. Muhamad Ahsan Raja, Secretary, Ministry of HRD, Mr. Francesco d’Ovidio, ILO Country Director Pakistan; Mr. Arif Azeem, ex-Secretary, Sindh Labour Department; Mr. Hassan Iqbal, Secretary, Punjab Labour Department; Mr. Tikka Khan, Representative of Pakistan Workers Federation

an intervention to help address the child labour issue. ILO-NRSP social mobilizers met Ahmed’s parents for his education. They agreed to enroll their child in the free non formal education programme offered by ILO. The ILO-NRSP field officers also trained Ahmed’s mother to do budgeting to start saving, and provided guidance on ways to increase their family income. Meanwhile, Ahmed spent 2 years at ILO-NRSP arranged NFE center and even secured third position in his 4th grade class examination. He has now found admission in the Government Islami Boys School Bag-e-Hayat in 5th grade. Ahmed’s new teacher, Mr. Irshad Ali Sheikh, is very pleased with the educational performance of his new student

Overcoming post conflict economic challenges in the region

A new approach involving private sector to overcome economic challenges in post-conflict situation has been introduced to donors and practitioners from Pakistan,

Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. This approach has been jointly introduced by the ILO and GIZ (German technical agency) in a three day international training course (4-6 Sept 2012) in Islamabad on “Practicing Private Sector Development in fragile and Conflict-affected Situations”. At the opening ceremony of training course, Mr Francesco d’Ovidio, Country Director ILO welcomed the foreign guests including trainers and participants. Ms Götze-Pfeiffer, Portfolio Manager at GIZ also spoke on the opening ceremony highlighting global situation of high youth unemployment which is giving rise to rebellion trends among them. The training course was facilitated by two international Resource Persons, Mr Martin Gasser from the International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin (Italy) and Mr O.J. Krück from Private Sector, on behalf of GIZ, Germany. The participants of the course had come from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The three day course looked into the concepts of fragile and conflict-affected situations and the genesis and role of Private Sector in developing societies. Course participants termed the training course rich in content, timely and relevant to the prevailing situation in their countries

8 February 2013

Brick Kiln - Cards for free medical services

311 workers and their families have been registered with the Punjab Employee Social Security Institution

(PESSI) and have begun to get the resultant benefits. Social protection is important as it provides a health cover to workers and their families. Employers must feel duty-bound to contribute a social protection fee so that PESSI is able provide this essential coverage for workers. Social protection contributes to economic growth by raising labour productivity and enhancing social stability as well as reducing poverty. ILO is supporting a pilot project of legal

empowerment of brick kiln workers in district Lahore, Punjab. It is being funded under the One UN. The innovative element of this particular project is ensuring social protection rights of the most vulnerable group of the community. Under this project ILO has sensitized the brick kiln owners and workers on benefits of social security. In this regard, the workers first have to get registered with NADRA for national identity cards which in turn give them rights to claim all basic human rights that the state provides to its citizens. Following are some of the case studies from among the 311 workers who have been registered with the PESSI and are enjoying protection against health, education as well as other allowances.

Case Study 1 Muhammad Yousaf, 49 years old, earns rupees 8,000 monthly and has to support his family of seven children. One of his

Punjab expands action against bonded labour in brick kilns

An additional allocation of Rupees two hundred million expands the Government of Punjab’s action

against bonded labour to four more districts. Punjab Labour and Human Resource Department has received the additional allocation under the Annual Development Plan, showing the strong commitment of the Government of Punjab to address the issue of bonded labour. This intervention to address bonded labour will be made in the districts of Gujrat, Sargodha, Faisalabad, and Bhawalpur for six years from 2012 till 2017. It will make

daughters has a mental disability and he has also had to spend a lot of money on her treatment. They have often had to cut spending even on food to save money to pay for her treatment. However, eventually they were forced to stop her medical treatment because they just could not get further in to debt. After Yousaf received the PESSI card, his daughter is being treated at the Nawaz Sharif Hospital, Lahore, free of charge. He also said that his wife is suffering from Hepatitis and now she too, due to the PESSI card, is also getting free medical treatment. “I am happy that my whole family is now medically covered and I do not have to borrow for medical treatment anymore.” remarked Yousaf.

Case Study 2 Muhammad Arshad is a brick kiln worker and has four children. He and his wife both work and have a limited monthly income. Under the ILO project, he has now received CNIC, and PESSI card and also birth certificates of his children. Arshad feels secure in the knowledge that his PESSI card has entitled him and his family to free of charge health coverage and that he will not need to take any loans for any medical emergency that may arise

Muhammad Yousaf showing his CNIC and PESSI cards

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an attempt to empower the families of brick kiln workers through literacy, non-formal education, information about their rights and linkages with the government’s social security mechanisms. ILO has provided technical support to Labour Department Punjab in various stages of the development of new project. Initially, ILO commissioned a review exercise of Phase 1 of the Government of Punjab’s Project on bonded labour. Subsequently, ILO assisted the Labour Department in conducting consultations with stakeholders which included relevant government, employers, workers, civil society, academia and media representatives. Finally, the ILO assistance has helped the Labour Department in formulation of the project document to expand government’s action against bonded labour in four additional districts and helping in

advocating for resource allocation. ILO has extended this support through its project on “Strengthening Law Enforcement Responses and Actions against Internal Trafficking and Bonded Labour”

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Empowering brick kiln workers through legal documentation

The women workers of brick kiln in Nankana District were jubilant on receiving legal documents to help

establish the identities of their children. In early October 2012, this community meeting was held in Nankana and attended by more than 100 women, men and children. A total of 52 birth certificates for the children of Brick Kiln workers were distributed. Ms. Caroline O’Reilly, an ILO Expert from Geneva who was on a Pakistan visit, distributed these birth certificates. She spoke with women workers and sought their views on how to further improve their working conditions. The community meeting was organized by the ILO and Labour Department Punjab and partner NGO ANCE. She also spent some time with the students at the non-formal education centres established through the project and appreciated their

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interest. Ms. O’Reilly participated in the District Vigilance Committee meeting on bonded labour too, which was chaired by the District Coordination Officer. Ms.O’Reilly is an ILO expert from Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour based at ILO headquarters in Geneva. She also held exploratory

consultations with senior government officials, representatives of employers and workers and key stakeholders to discuss new approaches to address the bonded labour issue. She also shared experiences taking places in other South Asian countries and how they are addressing similar issues in those countries

Ms. Caroline O’Reilly, ILO official, interacting with a brick kiln woman worker

One UN - Expression through the language of art

The art team of Punjab University was astonished to observe the raw skills of women workers of brick kilns

and their children producing different art objects with mud. A group of teachers and final year students from Art and Design Department of Punjab University Lahore were testing the level of existing skills among brick kiln workers and their children. In the suburb of Lahore, brick kiln women workers and their children found

this unique opportunity a great way to express their raw talent to make art work. “Language of art is a very powerful tool to communicate very sensitive ideas, as art can convey more than words and can leave a powerful effect on the audience” remarked Dr. Anis Siddiqi of the Art and Design Department of Punjab University,

who was instrumental in getting the students to this brick kiln site in suburbs of Lahore city. ILO under its One UN Project EET has organized this field visit of the Punjab University to explore the level of skill set among the brick kiln workers to produce art work. Dr.Anis Siddiqi divided the group into different themes to test the talents

and skills among the workers. They came up with beautiful patterns, different toys and objects made of clay. After the field exercise, the students made a presentation on the art skills they had explored and identified a range of abilities that could be further enhanced through short trainings, teaching and apprenticeship with experts. The Punjab University with the

support of ILO will now undertake a training workshop of selected women workers of brick kiln and their children and help guide them produce art work to communicate with the society at large. This initiative could also result in harnessing the art work skill in some of the women workers of brick kiln and their children. The art work produced as a result of

the training workshop will also be exhibited initiating a wider dialogue in society about the rights of brick kiln workers and the need to address the issue of bonded labour in the brick kiln industry. The ILO has designed this innovative pilot project, and this intervention will be implemented by the Punjab University. The project is funded under the One UN initiative

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10 February 2013

Shot from the documentary “Miss Representation”

Show what we really are: Screening of landmark documentary “Miss Representation” in Islamabad

Miss Representation’ is a landmark documentary film that exposes how mainstream media contributes

to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman or girl to feel powerful herself. ILO in collaboration with Civic Action Resources (CAR) organized screening of Miss Representation in Islamabad on World TV day 2012. Audience included journalists, academia, civil society activists, students, film makers and other notable citizens. Screening was followed by discussion on portrayal of women in Pakistani media and what can be done to improve the way women are represented through media. The event culminated in passage of a declaration urging media to improve portrayal of women. The declaration demanded from the media to pro-actively promote women’s perspectives on all issues, to vigorously promote voices of women from the local to the national level and not opinionate on behalf of women but to give women the right to speak for themselves, freely and openly without fear or favor. The declaration also urged the business and advertising sectors to stop perpetuation of negative stereotyping of women, portrayal of women in subservient and condescending roles and situations and to start supporting and promoting a progressive view of women as citizens with equal rights deserving of dignity and respect

Developing quality skills for women and men: A fresh approach by ILO in Pakistan

Many countries in Asia are struggling to develop the workforce skills necessary for

people to get employment and to improve the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises in the country. A standard approach to reforming and improving the training system has been to borrow large sums from the development banks (anything from US$ 50 to 100 million), with large teams of international experts to do the work. The limitation of this approach has been that it is usually the international experts that develop the standards and curricula, with very little transfer of learning, or capacity development, for the local staff. Under the ILO’s Gender Equity for Decent Employment (GE4DE) project, a new and innovative approach has been taking place.

But the key issue at the heart of this approach is to provide greater employment opportunities for the women and men in Pakistan, by enhancing their employability through quality skills programmes. These programmes are based on the requirements of the workplace and not, as is often the usual practice, the education and training system deciding what courses to teach with little or no involvement of industry. An essential element of the ILO’s approach has been to focus on developing and using local experts to improve the training system. This approach consisted of bringing together some of the best Vocational Training Centre Principals and

well-known, industry leaders, and taking them through a training and development process. A critical part of this process was that the local experts would be the people producing the new training courses. The ILO’s role was to provide technical support and guidance. This journey began by exploring which economic sectors had the greatest potential for employment, particularly for women. Following several sector studies, four were chosen: hospitality; fashion design; garment manufacturing; and, beauty and personal care. These sectors, in particular, were shown to have very good employment opportunities for both women and men. But the major challenge for the project was to develop the quality skills programmes required to assist people to obtain work in these sectors. The initial stage of the process was to organise the local experts into four sector working groups, where each group was led by the industry expert. The industry experts’ inputs were critical, as it was mapping exercise, competency standards were developed by each of the sector working groups. These competency standards described what actual work needed to be performed in the sectors and, at the level of performance required in the workplace.

The final stage of the process was to develop training course outlines based on the competency standards and the identified jobs available in the workplace. From these course outlines, new competency-based curricula and related training materials were developed. The industry based competency standards provide the quality benchmark for training courses. Subsequently these new courses will be rolled out. The issue of quality skills development is at the centre of this whole process and provides the greatest opportunities for women and men in Pakistan to get decent employment

well-known, industry leaders, and taking them through a training and development process. A critical part of this process was that the local experts would be the people producing the new training courses. The ILO’s role was to provide technical support and guidance. This journey began by exploring which economic sectors had the greatest potential for employment, particularly for women. Following several sector studies, four were chosen: hospitality; fashion design; garment manufacturing; and, beauty and personal care. These sectors, in particular, were shown to have very good employment opportunities for both women and men. But the major challenge for the project was to develop the quality skills programmes required to assist people to obtain work in these sectors. The initial stage of the process was to organise the local experts into four sector working groups, where each group was led by the industry expert. The industry experts’ inputs were critical, as it was mapping exercise, competency standards were developed by each of the sector working groups. These competency standards described what actual work needed to be performed in the sectors and, at the level of performance required in the workplace.

The final stage of the process was to develop training course outlines based on the competency standards and the identified jobs available in the workplace. From these course outlines, new competency-based curricula and related training materials were developed. The industry based competency standards provide the quality benchmark for training courses. Subsequently these new courses will be rolled out. The issue of quality skills development is at the centre of this whole process and provides the greatest opportunities for women and men in Pakistan to get decent employment

11

ILO Pakistan

Mr.AbdulQayyumKakar,Secretary,BalochistanLabour Department and Mr. Francesco d’Ovidio, ILO Country Directorwith other officials from ILO and Balochistan Labour Department

ILO Islamabad Team

ILO staff huddles together to rethink work...

Team Building Retreat of ILO Pakistan was organized in Lahore on 5-6 November 2012. This retreat was

an extremely important and interesting opportunity for the team, particularly the senior management to get the candid views of the team. The sessions conducted by the Country Director were important to get a reflection of what the actual scenario of the team is. Different aspects of the team were captured through this part of the retreat. Focus on the requirements for the constituents was important session. Views of likes and dislikes and the ideas regarding the system and structure of ILO Pakistan was also a highlight. During the course of

Supporting the Decent Work initiative in Balochistan

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan. Presently, there are some policy level activities that are being

support by the ILO. In December 2012, Mr. Francesco d’Ovidio, Country Director, ILO Pakistan led a delegation of ILO official andvisitedQuetta.ThedelegationheldmeetingwithMr.AbdulQayyumKakar,Secretary Balochistan Labour Department,

two days, self analysis and working together as a team were discussed and practiced through various games and interactive presentations. Outdoor activities attracted the participants as this provides better opportunity to interact. There were some open and candid sessions too that provided opportunity to the support team members to express their views, feelings and wishes. This event also provided and opportunity to break the silo between most senior and most junior team members. The sessions were flexible to accommodate the interest of the participants. The participants felt a bit captive in the closed room environment, whereas the outdoor activities became breathers. Key outcome of this activity was the openness and expression of the team members regarding their expectations about the work environment as well as the work itself

Pho

to ©

ILO

and his team. Mr Kakar warmly welcomed the delegation was very keen to promote Decent Work Agenda in the Province. Mr.Kakar also thanked ILO for the technical support to strength the Balochistan Department on child labour and gender related policy work. He also requested technical support from ILO to help develop provincial labour legislation. He deputed two officers to follow different project related activities in collaboration with the ILO. Mr d’Ovidio assured ILO’s full support to the Balochistan Labour Department. The ILO delegation later also held meeting with the trade union representatives of Pakistan Workers Federation and All Pakistna Labour Federation (APLF). The APLF also organized a simple meeting where various trade union leaders expressed their views on labour related matters. Mr Sultan Khan, President APLF welcome the ILO Country Director’s first visit to Balochistan and also highlighted various decent work deficits that workers in Balochistan were experiencing. Mr. d’Ovidio assured both the PWF and the APLF delegates that ILO will provide necessary technical support to help improve the labour legislation and provide assistance on other labour related issues

Coming next1. Media Training on Bonded Labour19 March 2013, Multan, Pakistan Capacity building training session for media will be conducted to sensitize them on reporting the issues and practices related to bonded labour and internal trafficking in Multan.

2. Child Labour Project20 March 2013, Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan Children withdrawn from WFCL will be provided with starter tool kits in order to start their own self-employment.

3. Occupational Safety and HealthMarch 2013Launch of Joint Action Plan on Work Place Safety and Health in Sindh.

4. IT training for Karachi’s fire victims in TTC (Technical Training Centre, Bufferzone) for Women26 March 2013, Karachi, Pakistan The training will enable these women to get decent employment, compensating them for the income their deceased love ones used to bring in.

5. Sensitization of Brick Kiln Owners26 March 2013, Lahore, Pakistan This event will be organized for the members of Brick Kiln Owners Association of Pakistan in Lahore.

6. Launch of ILO’s Maternity Resource Package27 March 2013, Islamabad, Pakistan Designed by 7 global organizations including United Nations agencies, the package bring together information and tools, expertise and knowledge concerning each and every component comprising maternity protection at work into one place.

7. National Seminar: ‘Promoting Industry Institute Linkages –to increase worker employability’4 April 2013, Lahore, Pakistan The project has supported Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority in strengthening industry-institute linkages (IIL) and work place learning (WPL) for TEVT institutes.

8. Training of Management of Training Institutes (MoTI)15 - 20 April 2013, Lahore, Pakistan A six day training course for selected Principals and Vice-Principals of TEVT Institutes of Punjab and Baluchistan provinces on “Management of Training Institutes”.

9. World Day Against Child Labour12 June 2013The World Day Against Child Labour 2013 (WDACL-2013) will be observed on 12 June 2013 in major cities of Pakistan. In Islamabad event two new songs on child labour will be shown & screening short films on Child Labour by university students.

12 February 2013

Photo ©ILO/Anwar Adil C/O Muhammad Iqbal, Zonal Incharge, HBFCBaldiyaPlaza,MezanChowk,Quetta

Photo ©ILO/Malik Shafiq AwanMuhammad Nagar, Allama Iqbal Road, Lahore

Photo ©ILO/Muhammad Shafeeq BhattiWari Tarr Road, Sukkur

Photo ©ILO/Raja ZulfiqarF-6/4, Islamabad

Labouring in crushing factories is hazardous for children due to exposure to dust, extreme weather condition and long working hours without rest.

Girl child labourers working in the streets are always at risk of facing accidents and different types of violence.

Child labour working in hazadous environment, with awkward body posture and lifting heavy weights. Such work can cause serious physical injuries including back problems to children.

Child labour in rag picking is one of the worst forms of child labour. These children are vulnerable to be infected with various diseases as they pick wide range of debasis including hospital waste.

ILO Office for PakistanILO Building, G-5/2Islamabad - PakistanP.O. Box 1047Tel: +92 51 2276456-8Fax: +92 51 2279181-2islamabad@ilo.orgwww.ilo.org/islamabad

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Photo ©ILO/Abdul Rauf Ecnomics Department Lasbela University, Uthal, Balochistan

Photo ©ILO/Muhammad KamalStudent from Baldiya Town Karachi

Children are compelled to work for long hours in a hazardous environment with cramp posture.

Child labour in auto workshops is a common sight in Pakistan, Instead of sending them to school, parents prefer to send them to a motor mechanic at young age to acquire skills.

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Depicting fragility at work:National photo competition on child labour organised byCACL Project II funded by European Union

1st Prize

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2ndPrize

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Rs. 30,000 Rs. 30,000

1st Prize

2ndPrize

Rs. 50,000

Rs. 30,000

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