Lack of workplace safety a constant threat to workers’ lives, seminar told

Lack of workplace safety a constant threat to workers’ lives, seminar told

KARACHI: Occupational safety and health (OSH) at workplaces was the focus of a seminar titled ‘The Crisis, Workers’ Struggle and the Way Forward’ organised by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday — held on the eve of the 14th anniversary of the Baldia Town factory fire, in which 260 workers were killed and dozens injured. The seminar began with a minute’s silence to mourn the infants who died in a fire at the nursery of the Mother and Child Healthcare Centre, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), last month. Speaking on the occasion, NTUF’s Nasir Mansoor said three million people lost their lives at their workplaces globally each year, and that in Pakistan, industrial units, mines, shipbreaking yards and other workplaces were also akin to death traps. “Recurring fires, machinery-related accidents, exposure to toxic chemicals, unsafe buildings, inadequate ventilation, lack of protective equipment and fatal mining accidents demonstrate that workers’ lives and health are still not being given the importance they deserve, compared with production and profit,” he said. Aqib Hussain of the J&P Coats Workers Union said the Ali Enterprises tragedy was not the last of its kind, as many similar incidents had followed. “Again the fire tenders arrive late, again the workers get trapped inside buildings and are burned alive or die of suffocation, while the factory owners wake up only when it is too late,” he said. No fewer than 260 workers had lost their lives in Baldia factory fire tragedy 14 years ago Bashir Mehmoodani of the Gadani Shipbreaking Workers Union said safety was a matter of life and death. “The Gadani shipbreaking disaster happened in 2016, and things are still as bad as they were then,” he said. “A worker leaves home to earn a living for his family. His life matters,” he added. Shakil Awan of the Pakistan Railway Workers Union said politicians and ministers spoke of workers’ safety, but that all their concern was confined to paperwork. Zehra Khan of the Home-Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) said Pakistan had declared Sept 11 as Occupational Safety and Health Day, but that it remained just another day, with no deeper meaning attached to it. “Industrial disasters cannot simply be labelled ‘accidents’ to evade responsibility. When emergency exits are unavailable, fire-prevention systems are inadequate, protective equipment is not provided, machinery is unsafe and mines lack proper gas-monitoring systems, the resulting deaths are preventable industrial fatalities,” she said. “Factory owners save money by ignoring workers’ safety. They earn profits through the hard work of their employees but fail to understand the value of investing in that safety,” she said. She further said the Pakistan Accord, Global Framework Agreements (GFAs), the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence framework, ILO standards, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights constituted important international mechanisms for protecting workers’ rights and safety. The Pakistan Accord, she said, emphasised independent factory safety inspections, remediation of identified shortcomings, transparency, and effective grievance mechanisms for workers. “This experience demonstrates that company-controlled social audits and paper-based certifications alone are insufficient to protect workers’ lives,” she said. Global Framework Agreements are pacts between multinational companies and global trade unions that establish common international standards on trade union rights, collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, and fundamental workers’ rights. Pakistani trade unions, she said, should use these agreements not merely as documents but as practical mechanisms for securing union rights, addressing safety complaints, ensuring remedy and protecting workers. Under the European Union’s responsible business due diligence framework, large companies are required to identify, prevent and address human rights and environmental risks in their operations and supply chains. M. Jameel of the Baldia Factory Fire Victims Association said the Baldia factory tragedy was not merely an accident but a preventable industrial crime, and that justice for the victims required strict enforcement of safety laws so that no other worker died in a similar tragedy. Dara Zaffar of the All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation, OSH expert Ashraf Ali Naqvi, Rafiq Baloch and Gul Rahman of the NTUF, Wasim Khan of the Pakistan Workers Federation, Hafiz M. Rafiq of the Pakistan Railway Workers Union, Ghulam Mehboob of the PC Workers Union, Riaz Abbasi of the Atlas Battery Union, and Bachal Sameto of the Seral Pharma Employees Union also spoke. Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2026