LAHORE: Formal sector throughout the world, and especially in third world countries, has been mostly transformed into informal sector due to capitalism. Capitalist policies overlook the labour rights by favouring the capitalist entities.
These views were expressed by PATTAN leader Shazia Khan during a press conference at Lahore Press Club on Friday. Other leaders include Niaz Khan, Yousaf Baloch, Mehmood Butt and Nazli Javed also present on the occasion. “Breakage of formal sector results in a rapid increase in informal sector. The informal sector throughout South Asia is being oppressed. The labour forces in this sector are supporting the economy by providing invisible forms of labour,” Shazia added.
The PATTAN leader further said: “In Pakistan, more than 80 per cent of the labour force belongs to the informal sector.–PR
This sector contributes almost 32 billion dollars to the economy, yet the government ignores their voice constantly. This sector includes several home-based and low level enterprises.”
She said the rapid increase in informal sector is due to globalization, new liberal economic policies, deregulation, downsizing and privatization. These factors are resulting in hundreds of thousands of people being unemployed, and are affecting women, children and elderly belonging to these families, informal sector has increased home-based work and child labour, where there are no laws to protect the labourers.
“These issues of the informal labour sector are political in nature. These people need to be organised, educated, and made aware about their rights. They should be registered as formal workers and should be provided with social security according to the labour laws,” she concluded.–PR