Congratulations to Piler, [1] Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research, which has successfully reached awareness of the complex situation of workers. This aim was realised last summer thanks to a radio documentary, transmitted throughout the country. In Pakistan, more than 80% of labour is made up of small trades in areas as varied as fishing, small services and also work in the informal sector. This is a “prosperous” and very developed domain. For 25 years, Piler has fought on behalf of these workers, so that they can avail of employment rights as well as social rights.
According to Sharafat Ali, who is an associate member of Piler and responsible for the training of teams, echoes of the Institute’s work resonated throughout Pakistan last July. A wide variety of radio listeners tune in to Radio Pakistan-Karachi: students, women, industrialists, workers, farmers or civil servants. They have all heard the message of Zulfiqar Shah and Sharafat. Sharafat Ali explains moreover that “it was the first time that such a programme was transmitted by a state radio station, freely and uncensored, which is very important”.  

Disarm to combat poverty 

During this broadcast, Zulfiqar Shah, who is also responsible for training with Piler, had the chance to describe “linked labour”, forbidden in the country since 1992, but still present in areas throughout Pakistan. It’s a type of work that affects millions of Pakistanis in a country three time bigger than France. Piler campaigns against this form of modern slavery which reduces indebted workers to become slaves to quite unscrupulous employers.

	The Piler Centre in Karachi has been a property of the institute since the year 2000. © Piler (Photo: Building taken from: http://www.piler.org.pk/pilercenter.html)

Finally, Sharafat Ali presented Piler’s current campaigns such as promoting employment rights, access to social security for all and the still poor social responsibility of companies. He also insisted on the necessity to disarm to combat poverty, in the name of a campaign. As they share the same interests, Ekta Parishad [2] in India and Frères des Hommes in France, have decided to join with Piler and to work together on this issue.

In this country racked by conflict, the future is on the radio 

Thanks to this radio programme, Piler was able to communicate information on its current efforts to a wide audience. In addition to this, a second consideration came to reinforce the influence of this broadcast. The team of journalists that worked on the broadcast have recently been given an award by the radio association of Pakistan, la BPC [3], during a contest which took place on a nationwide scale. For Sharafat Ali, “this award has allowed for a greater insight into the organisation and into the work done for workers of Pakistan”. This is a major triumph for Piler’s future projects, one of which involves a radio programme on the issue of employment rights.

Legislation surrounding the creation of a trade union, health, social security, inspections of working conditions: all the questions are tackled in such a manner that they are accessible to as many of the public as possible. It is an original system of education destined for everyone. The radio is therefore becoming an intermediary between Pakistani workers and jurists, civil servants and even community leaders capable of making their voices heard. All this aims at a better protection of workers in the informal sector.