This stain, this night-time charm

Today, millions of people all over the world who believe in the working class and the philosophy of humanity are commemorating the workers of Chicago who were killed in 1886 by the capitalists, oppressive industrialists, the aristocracy and their powerful state machinery for demanding their rights. I killed innocent people.

It is May 1886, in the American city of Chicago, more than 4 lakh industrial workers are marching in the form of a procession to emphasize their demands in a very peaceful manner. A bomb was hurled at a police force from inside the procession to justify the use of force on innocent and peaceful workers, and as it happened, the armed police opened fire brutally, killing ten workers and seriously injuring hundreds.

The state arrested 8 labor leaders, Spice, Fielden, Parsons, Adolph Fish, George Angel, Michael Schwab, Louis King and Oscar Nebiko and charged them with murder. Labor leaders Spice, Angel, Parsons and Fisher were hanged on November 11, 1887.

The brief background of this historical event is that at that time industrial workers were subjected to the worst exploitation in Europe and America, they were made to work sixteen hours without overtime pay. Their condition was like that of slaves, there was no bonus or any other facility. The salary was given to them so much that they could only survive, could have more children so that they too could become a source of increase in the wealth of the factory owners.

Various labor organizations were engaged in struggle against this situation. At that time, a slogan became very popular among the workers and that was “Eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours of socialization.” “The American Federation of Labor, a leading labor organization of the time, through a resolution called on the government and industry to set the maximum working hours at eight hours a day. This demand received a great response.

Labor movements in the United States and Canada became active in pressing this demand. The great workers of Chicago went to the forefront in this struggle and made the great history of sacrifices, as a result of which the course of politics in the world changed and today they are paid homage to throughout the world of humanity.

Now, leaving Chicago, we take a quick look at the dear homeland regarding these same matters. In Pakistan too, the working class has made a lot of sacrifices against the atrocities of the state and industrialists and for its elimination and for achieving their rights. As a result of this struggle, they were put in jails, they were killed, they were flogged on their backs, but as a class they persisted and finally the state gave them laws regarding trade union formation and their other problems. Granted some rights.

In the political era of Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s reign should be remembered as a golden era for the protection of the rights of the workers, for the achievement of their interests and for the progressive legislation and the establishment of the welfare institutions of the workers. will

During the reign of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first tripartite labor conference was held in Islamabad which was chaired by the Shaheed himself. Apart from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s regimes, dictator Ziaul Haq, dictator Ayub Khan, dictator Yahya Khan. Pervez Musharraf’s regime proved to be the worst for the working class, while Nawaz Sharif’s regime was no different.

During the period of dictators, prison bars and whips on the backs of the workers became their destiny, while during all the periods of Nawaz Sharif’s government, millions of workers were rendered jobless by downsizing, various anti-labor laws were implemented. The trade union movement was strangled by special legislation, particularly in the banking industry, and is now a living corpse.

The current situation is that after the implementation of the 18th Amendment, the labor department has been completely transferred to the provinces. After this transfer, several new labor laws have been enacted in the province of Sindh, as a result of which the rights of the working people are greatly restricted. Legal protection has been obtained. After the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment and despite the combined efforts of the PPP provincial government and the labor organizations, the reality is that the real fruits of these legislations are not reaching the majority of the working class.

There could be several reasons for this. One of the main reasons is the trade unions and the labor movement, which are becoming less powerful day by day, because this is the real power that can take away the rights of the oppressed classes from the oppressed classes and make them less powerful. Another reason could be the outdated government machinery which has no enthusiasm for implementing the laws and they are moving on a traditional specific path. As a whole, the system of governance can be a rusty system in which the need for reforms is found in every sector of the beloved country today.

Whatever the reason may be, the first suggestion to deal with and overcome this situation is to set up think tanks in all the provinces with representatives of workers, industrialists, senior government officials, intellectuals and economists. And on the basis of his own recommendations, the provincial governments should organize the labor department and its allied welfare institutions in Srinor so that the labor laws can be actually implemented and the anxiety and anxiety spread among millions of workers can be eliminated to a large extent.

It is also suggested that tripartite labor conferences be held in all the provinces in the first week of February every year, presided over by the Chief Minister, while in the Federation it is presided over by the Prime Minister so that employers, employees and government representatives can consult each other. Be able to develop a joint plan of action going forward.