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Wage Theft

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2023

THREE years have gone by since the WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Termed as the world’s most serious humanitarian crisis since World War II, it is still being debated whether the pandemic is over or not as new infections and deaths occur in a number of countries. By February 2023, 6.8 million people had died. Besides, hundreds of millions of people lost jobs globally, millions saw their salaries cut or work hours reduced. Most countries have not yet returned to the levels of employment and hours worked before the outbreak. According to an ILO report, informality and working poverty have risen further with the Covid-19 crisis.

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Labour in the US

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2022

“All happiness depends on courage and work” — Balzac

A PARADIGM shift is taking place in the labour market of the world’s richest economy. Attributed to the shift in the mindset of workers, spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, the New Collar work and an upsurge in unionising are reshaping the US workforce.

After the lockdowns and the end of enhanced unemployment benefits they received from the state during the pandemic, workers have been re-evaluating their priorities and rethinking their work-life balance. Many have found the courage to take the plunge out of low-paid, stressful work, to learn something new and transition to ‘new-collar’ work, search for online, work-from-home options, or find a better paid, less stressful job. Others are opting for a work-free life, joining the anti-work movement, not with an aim to a lifetime of idling but “to start a conversation, to problematise work”.

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Pakistan’s Trade Unions in 2022

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2022.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” — Albert Einstein

THE Covid-19 pandemic, which destroyed the livelihoods of billions of workers, exposed the widening inequity in the world between the rich and poor as never before. An important lesson to emerge in the aftermath is the need for a “just transition into the future” and the need to go “towards a more protected and empowered workforce” as was said in a recent ILO report. This lesson may not have been grasped yet by the employers and workers in our country, but it has created a ripple in the world of work at large. Let us hope our employers, labour unions and state officials realise these needs, if not today, then tomorrow.

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