On the 12th anniversary of the Baldia factory tragedy, a memorial gathering was held in front of the affected factory today to pay tribute to the 260 workers who lost their lives.
The event was organized jointly by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association, and the HomeBased Women Workers Federation (HBWWF), as it was every year. Veteran labor leader Habibuddin Junaidi presided over the gathering, during which the families of the victims lit candles in front of the photographs of their loved ones.
In his address, Nasir Mansoor, General Secretary of NTUF, remarked that even after 12 years since the worst industrial tragedy in Pakistan, workers’ lives in factories remained unsafe. Frequent industrial accidents demonstrated that the government, factory owners, and international brands prioritized profits over workers’ lives.
Mansoor further criticized the German brand “KiK,” responsible for the Ali Enterprises disaster, for not apologizing to the victims’ families despite their demands. He added that it was even more disheartening that, instead of learning from this tragedy, international fashion brands, including German ones, continue to force millions of workers to work in similar inhumane conditions in the factories they sourced from.
He also highlighted that as a result of the long struggle by the victims’ families and labor organizations, a settlement was reached where around $6 million was allocated as longterm compensation by the German brand. However, the International Labour Organization (ILO) invested that amount in an insurance company without consulting the victims or labor unions, which was a clear violation of democratic and transparency principles. No consultations were held with the families or labor organizations regarding the investment agreement between the ILO and the Insurance company.
Habibuddin Junaidi , a veteran trade unionist, criticized the Pakistani government for its focus on increasing exports to earn foreign exchange while consistently ignoring the working and living conditions. He emphasized that economic development and prosperity required strict enforcement of both local labor laws and international labor standards in factories.
Hasna Khatoon, Chairperson of the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association, condemned the Sindh government for allowing the factory building to be demolished without settling legal dues such as group insurance and gratuity payments. The families demanded that the factory be converted into a worker training center in memory of the martyrs, rather than being demolished.
Comrade Zahra Khan, General Secretary of the HomeBased Women Workers Federation Pakistan (HBWWF), noted that the struggle of the Baldia tragedy’s victims and labor unions not only resulted in compensation for the families but also played a key role in legislation in the German and European parliaments to hold brands accountable for labor and human rights violations. This same struggle also led to the signing of the “Pakistan Accord,” under which over 500 factories and half a million workers were now covered with a health and safety program.
Asad Iqbal Butt, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, stated that Pakistan remained among the top violators of human and labor rights. The constitutional right to form unions had become obsolete. He stressed the need for a unified action plan to ensure democratic freedoms and better working conditions in factories.
Other speakers at the gathering included Comrade Gul Rahman, Riaz Abbasi, Qamarul Hassan, Haider Abbas, Aqib Hussain, Muhammad Siddiq, Comrade Jannat, Ramzan Memon, Khalid Zadran, Razaq Memon, Bachal Samijo, Zulfiqar Mir, Aziz Ahmed and others.
The gathering called for the following demands: ensure the implementation of Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) law to make workplaces safer; the German brand “KiK” must apologize to the families of the 260 martyrs; International brands, including German ones, must stop labor laws violations in the factories they sourced from; and the ILO must make public its insurance deal, which was made without consulting the victims or labor representatives, restore the oversight committee; the illegal contract labor system must be abolished; permanent workers should be hired for permanent nature of jobs in accordance with labor laws; and all employees must be given written appointment letters, and wages should be paid through workers’ personal bank accounts.
They also demanded the antiworker “Sindh Labor Code,” introduced without consulting workers, must be withdrawn immediately, and disciplinary action should be taken against those responsible government officials drafting it; the Sindh government should announce the official notification of the minimum wage; all workers must be registered with social security and pension institutions; the right to unionize and collectively bargain must be recognized; and the privatization of public institutions must be stopped.