HYDERABAD: Speakers at a consultation programme on Thursday called for effective and meaningful measures to eliminate bonded labour, rehabilitate liberated workers and stop the new wave of ‘bonded labourers’ triggered by occupation of sweet water lakes in Sindh.

Despite passage of 26 years, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992, had not been implemented in letter and spirit, they said at the programme titled ‘Abo­lition of bonded labour: state and issues of bonded labour in Sindh’ organised by the Human Rights Com­mission of Pakistan (HRCP) task force Hyder­abad at a local hotel here.

Pakistan Fisherfolk For­um chairperson Moham­mad Ali Shah said the illegal possession of sweet water lakes had rendered several hundreds of fishermen unemployed who were now falling prey to bonded labour.

Purbhu Satyani of Pak­istan Institute of Labour Education and Research said the European Union was considering GSP+ accord with Pak­istan, which required the country to implement human rights as ordained in international treaties, conventions and covenants like the Inter­national Labour Orga­nisa­tion’s declaration of principles that prohibited forced labour.

Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child regional head Kashif Bajeer said the federal and provincial governments, political parties and civil society organisations ought to work together to eliminate the menace of bonded labour.

Rights activist Zulfiqar Hal­epoto said the political parties could not be unaware of the exploitation of workers, trapped in various forms of bondage, in agriculture, in brick-kiln industry, in carpet weaving factories and in mines.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2018