Unaware of the mammoth rallies taken out on International Labour Day in Pakistan, Mustafa Shah-a 30 year-old poor labourer of Nowshera district was busy like a honeybees in completion of the assigned task of wheat harvesting before the sunset.
As the sun started sitting down behind Kohay Sufaid mountains at Peshawar, Mustafa accelerated cutting of wheat on 10 acres ie Rs10000 per acre contract, asking his brothers Amanat Khan and Abad Khan besides five other labourers to hurry up to complete it well on time.
Known as Speen Khan, the motivated labourer obtained a wheat harvesting contract includes its cutting, threshing and storage and worked in two shifts to support his five members family in the wake of unprecedented price hike in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Following the demise of my father, Shamas Khan due to blood cancer, I had discontinued my education after metric and started different labour jobs including building construction, wheat harvesting, fruits selling and transport to meet household, health and education’s expanses of my family. “I also closed my small general store shop after it was swept away by 2022 devastated floods in River Kabul. Later, I have purchased a rickshaw with financial support of my mother and was succeeded in returning Rs5lac loan obtained for treatment of my father,” he said.
Enjoying a cup of black tea brought by his brother under a Shisham tree with his fellow labourers after completion of the task, he said that these day he prefered wheat harvesting due to high profit margin compare to other labour jobs.
”‘Purchasing of own tractor-thresher was my dream but could not materialize it so far due to financial constraints,” he said and urged the provincial government to give interest-free loans to labourers so that they may establish their own businesses.
Like Mustafa, Abad and Amanat, hundreds of thousands of labourers were engaged in wheat harvesting, bricks kilns, agriculture, construction and trees plantations besides otters works in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, thus contributing to the country’s economic development.
Professor Dr Ejaz Khan, former Chairman International Relations Department, University of Peshawar said that Ist May is a significant day to remember and paid glowing tributes to all those labourers, who worked for the economic prosperity, and development and sacrificed their lives for Pakistan.
The day was being observed in 80 countries in the world including Pakistan to pay homage to the great services of the labour community. Every year, International Labour Day was observed in memory of the Chicago workers killed by police while protesting against long hours duty and low wages in 1886.
The theme of this year was ensuring labourers’ safety and health at workplace in a changing climate.
In Pakistan, Ist May was officially declared as public holiday after it’s inclusion in the first labour policy devised in 1972.
From Chitral to Karachi and Kashmir to Gawadar, mammoth rallies, walks and seminars were held in all cities of Pakistan highlighting plights and achievements of the labourers.
Also, transporters, traders and labourers unions held rallies and walks in all 35 districts of KP by holding placards and banners with pro labourers slogans.
Federal and Provincial Governments had declared May 1 as public holiday, and all Govt and semi Govt organizations besides private institutes remained closed.
Waqas Anjum, Director Provincial Housing Authority (PHA) told APP that 2,056 flats at Labour City Regi Lalma Peshawar were constructed for industrial workers and funds were allocated for sanitation, water, street lights and other issues in Mardan Labour Colony.
He said 6,500 kanals land was available in Peshawar, 560 kanal in Swat, 377 kanal in Charsadda, 300 kanal and 8,300 land in Hangu for construction of houses for labourers. Three high rise buildings at Nishtarabad, Warsak-I and Warsak-II in Peshawar where 900 residential flats would be constructed for general public and labourers.
The other projects includes Warsak-I covering 4.14 kanal and Warsak-II of 3.8 kanal costing Rs3,500 million and that a 20 storey high rise building on 36 kanal which would be constructed at Nishtarabad in Peshawar City where 300 low cost residential flats to be built.
He said Jalozai housing project in Nowshera is being constructed on 8,400 kanal where about 9,000 housing units would be constructed besides 1, 300 residential flats for labourers and working class.
Under PHA Foundation and KP Government’s joint venture project, 8, 000 low-cost housing units in the first phase would be constructed at Surizai Peshawar. Danigram Swat on 70 kanal where a special quota allocated for labourers, widows, persons with disabilities and media professionals.
High rise buildings with 140 residential flats were being constructed at Hayatabad and its possession letters to labourers were issued besides building of residential flats in Mardan and Pabbi Nowshera.
Labour Department officials told APP that minimum wage has been increased to Rs25,000 to facilitate labourers and workers besides giving them shares in profits of companies and regularized their jobs.
One window OPF facilitation desk at Bacha Khan airport Peshawar having representatives of 13 departments including PIA, NADRA, Immigration and Passport, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Customs, ANF, Bureau of Immigration and Oversees Employment, ASF, Overseas Employment Corporation, CAA and Overseas Pakistanis Foundation were established to swiftly address complaints of oversees Pakistanis.
Besides allocation of five percent quota in public sector universities for children of overseas Pakistanis, he said the government has planned to provide financial support in the shape of payment of fees to facilitate children of overseas Pakistani studying in foreign universities through Higher Education Commission.
Overseas Pakistanis foundation housing scheme has been launched at Budhni Road, Peshawar spread on 991 kanals near the motorway exit, which encompasses 681 residential and 74 commercial plots.
They said 400 percent of workers’ salaries were increased and services of temporary workers regularized besides restoration of sacked employees.
