June 19, 2013

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Occupational hazards: Paramedics, teachers boycott polio duties in Swabi

SWABI, June 19th: The paramedical and teachers associations of Swabi district on June 18 refused to participate in polio drives in the district unless proper security is provided to them. Speaking to journalists at the Government Employees Coordination Council office in Swabi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Paramedical Association Senior Vice President Islam Gul along with members of All Teachers Association announced a boycott of anti-polio drives in Swabi until the government provides them complete security. Condemning Sunday’s killing of two polio workers in Kandaray village, Gul and other participants signed a resolution demanding the government to order an inquiry into the incident. “The district government should bring to task the people whose negligence claimed the lives of the two … [Read more...]

Child Labour: No policy to protect child domestic help

LAHORE, June 12th: Aqsa Batool, a 14-year old, worked at a house in Samanabad. At the end of every month, her parents would collect her salary. In April this year, Batool died. The post mortem reports said she had been beaten up but her employers said that she died from an electric shock. Society for the Protection of Child Rights got an FIR registered. However, there has been no progress on the case so far. It is rumoured that the employers and the girl’s parents have agreed on ‘compensation’. Since January, nine cases have been reported of severe torture on children employed as domestic workers. Five of them have died. According to SPARC, at least 40 cases of torture on children working as domestic workers have been reported in the province since 2010. A policy has yet to be … [Read more...]

Workplace equality: Exploitation of women workers noticed

FAISALABAD, June 11th: The Labour Department has decided to initiate proceedings against all industrial units accused of making female employees work more than 12 hours a day. The decision follows complaints by various workers’ representatives and Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM). It has been alleged that a majority of export-oriented units in garments and cotton fabric sectors deprive female workers of their legitimate rights as outlined in labour laws. According to the labour laws, duty hours for a female worker were limited to 42 hours a week. However, it was revealed that most female workers were being forced to work over 90 hours a week. At the same time, these workers were not provided social security facilities, old age benefits and other facilities. LQM Chairman Muhammad … [Read more...]

Long hours for little pay

June 3: “I don’t know if that is how it is everywhere, but in Pakistan, the common man and woman work long hours and receive little pay”, says Umer Saddique Ansari (26). “When I was through with my FSc exam at secondary school, I continued with a one-year computer course and some other training, and then I began applying for jobs. Alas, I had no luck at all. Very few even bothered to reply me.” “I didn’t know what to do. After some time, I realised that I couldn’t spend the whole day watching TV and playing football,” Umer adds. He hails from Sialkot, a city that has now become know for its football-making industry. Well, and earlier, it was better known for having fostered Pakistan’s greatest poet Allama Iqbal. Umer grew up in Islamabad where his father runs a … [Read more...]

Peshawar attack reinforces vaccinators’ safety woes

PESHAWAR, May 29: The Tuesday attack against two women vaccinators in Peshawar has reinforced concerns of the people involved in the provincial polio campaigns about their safety. The local relevant officials said May 28’s had been the first direct attack against polio teams since the killing of four people, including two vaccinators in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in February and March. They said after the killings, more violence against polio teams was feared. Two policemen accompanying health workers were killed and one injured in Charsadda and Peshawar in the February and March attacks. However, workers survived the attacks as they were administering polio drops to children inside their house. The officials said the latest attack had surprised them as they had thought that … [Read more...]

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