Seminars, events and rallies were held across Pakistan to raise voice for the rights of working class people as world observes Labour Day on Sunday.

The day is marked to pay tribute to labours and acknowledge their contributions and services to the lives of people belonging to different social strata.

Leaders’ messages on Labour Day

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a tweet paid homage to the workers “on their sacrifices & heroic struggle for their rights. Development becomes meaningful only when those working hard to make it possible are taken care of & included among the recipients of its benefits.”

The premier said “my government is committed to raising their standard of living & honouring the dignity of their work.”

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in a message saluted to all “workers in Pakistan & across the world”.

“Pakistani labour are the backbone of our economy. With a large expatriate Labour force of Pakistani workers abroad too make a big contribution to global economy. We stand by you in support of your rights,” he tweeted.

Former prime minister Imran Khan in a tweet reiterated “PTI’s commitment to work for betterment of our workers who are the backbone of our economy.”

Khan said: “We had introduced Health Card, Panagahs, the No one should go hungry programme, Langarkhanas & Ehsaas programme especially to alleviate pandemic fallout on our poor.”

He expressed the commitment to building “Pakistan into a welfare state where the rights & welfare of our workers & farmers are protected & enhanced.”

A public holiday is marked across the world on the day and a large number of seminars, events and rallies are conducted to advocate the rights of the labor community. However, the labour class is still deprived of their basic rights, not only in Pakistan but worldwide.

Usually, the workers belonging to poorest of the poor families are often unaware of their basic rights. They work on minimum daily wages and under harsh conditions to fulfil basic family needs.

Minimum wage for labours has been specified in Pakistan to ensure their livelihood, but its implementation is rarely observed.

History

Globally, the movement for rights of labours initiated in Chicago in 1886, when the labourers took to the streets to demand their rights and protest against oppression and unfair treatment. They demanded that their 14-hour work shift be reduce to eight hours a day.

According to the reports, the protests were effective and it forced industrialists to shut down factories, but the police and security forces opened fire on the peaceful protestors, killing many of the demonstrators.

Around 250 protesters were hanged to death for raising their voice, while thousands of people were injured during the protests. The crackdown on peaceful protesters led the campaign to spread worldwide. Since then, every year May 1 is observed as Labour Day.

The Labour day was first observed in Pakistan in 1973 during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s era.