Sam Wang
The Roxbury Latin School
RUMUN 2007
A Statement of Policy
from
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
to
The International Labor Organization (ILO)
TOPIC 1: FINDING DECENT WORK
There is a decent work deficit in The Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Despite the Right to
Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention No. 98 and the Discrimination
(Employment and Occupation) Convention No. 111, not everyone is able to find a job. Of
those who do have jobs, only a few have a secure, safe, and well-paying one. Even
though the constitution of Pakistan prohibits forced labor and bonded labor, violations
against this rule happen all over Pakistan. It is not unusual for a Pakistani worker, child
or adult, to be working extremely long hours in hazardous conditions and to be harassed
by his or her co-workers. The International Labor Organization must help Pakistan with
this problem to keep families from being trapped in poverty and to help them to slowly
emerge from it. So far, the ILO has made a number of conventions including the Forced
Labor Convention and the Discrimination Convention. However, they need to work
further in order to stop this problem from worsening, both in Pakistan and across the
world.
Pakistan has attempted to deal with these problems of decent work by starting the
Pakistan Decent Work Country Program (DWCP) in 2004 in close collaboration with the
ILO. The main goals of the DWCP are “labor law reform, employment generation
through human resource development specifically by way of skill training, expansion of
social protection including the informal economy, and promoting tripartism for social
dialogue.” The DWCP will analyze the specific decent work deficit situations and act
accordingly with decisions based on the four aforementioned goals. This program has
been replicated across the world, and all programs that follow this principle need to be
continually funded by the United Nations.
Pakistan has also ratified a few ILO conventions to help with the decent work
challenges throughout our country. These ratified conventions include the Forced Labor
Convention, the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, and the
Discrimination Convention, among others. The Forced Labor Convention protected
workers from doing any work involuntarily. The Right to Organize and Collective
Bargaining Convention protected workers from “acts of interference by each other.” The
Discrimination Convention prohibits all forms of discrimination and harassment. By
ratifying these conventions, Pakistan is making an effort to help people find decent work
and work their way out of poverty. However, the problem now is a lack of enforcement
of these rules.
Pakistan would like to see some more companies be part of the Factory
Improvement Program (FIP). In 2004, a Vietnamese company was part of the FIP,
productivity was raised by 35%, and salaries rose by 32%. They were able to create more
decent work. With the help of funds from the World Bank, Pakistan would also like to
see more educational opportunities provided to the youth so that they may grow up and
lead better lives with safer and more secure jobs. Pakistan also wishes to have more
treaties created to address the pressing issue of unsafe and hazardous working conditions
with more countries involved. In this way, the importance of finding decent work will be
spread throughout the world. Through these methods, the ILO and Pakistan will
accomplish the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to “Eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger,” “Achieve universal primary education,” and “Reduce Child
Mortality.”