Pakistan’s factory fire: Foul-play or lack of labour safety?

Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik has said a possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out in the garment factory fire in Karachi which killed at least 259 people. It may be recalled that last week fires had ravaged at two clothing factories in

Pakistan leaving numerous dead -- many trapped behind locked doors and barred windows -- raising questions about the woeful lack of regulation in a vital sector of Pakistan’s faltering economy. While the country mourns the loss of so many lives, concerns over lack of labour laws and safety measures in the country are being simultaneously questioned.

A social activist in Pakistan, Sarwar Bari, writes in the Express Tribune, “How many factory owners belong to ruling parties and how many political parties are controlled by industrialists, who not only violate labour laws but also safety and hygiene standards. They blatantly violate rights of the workers who generate profits for them. They neither allow independent unions to function in their factories, nor do they fulfill their legal duty on their own.”

Meanwhile, reports suggest all exit gates were closed when the fire broke out, leading to suspicion about the possible motives behind the incident. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Parliament, Opposition parties, rights and labour groups have called for a judicial inquiry into one of the worst fire incidents in the country's history. Pakistan has also registered murder charges against factory bosses and government officials over the deaths where workers were suffocated or were burnt alive.

It may be noted that the Karachi factory was owned by Ali Enterprises, a company with substantial exports to Europe and the US. It employed between 1,200 and 1,500 workers, who were reportedly paid the equivalent of US $5 to $6 (Rs 268 to Rs 322) per day. In violation of Pakistani labour law, Ali Enterprises had not registered a single one of these workers with the various meagre government-backed social insurance schemes, meaning the workers had no benefits. News reports suggest the company had been pressing for increased production in recent weeks so as to be able to supply the Christmas market in the West without having recourse to costly air shipments. It is believed that Ali Enterprises’ owner “was influential enough to keep authorities concerned silent over labour issues.”

The interior minister, who visited the gutted factory, said investigators are looking at all options including the element of sabotage. He said terrorists are bent upon destroying peace in Karachi, where political, sectarian attacks and bomb blasts have killed hundreds of people in recent months. “Investigators will look at the intentions behind the incident and the possible involvement of people,” Malik was quoted as saying. The minister said that the late arrival of fire-fighters and they carrying scarce water, will also be investigated.

A major export earner, textiles is big business in Pakistan. It employs 38 per cent of the manufacturing work force and accounts for 7.4 per cent of GDP in 2011. And while the Pakistani government is contemplating over the real cause behind the biggest casualty in its history, the question that needs to be answered is: are industrialists being given the upper hand to earn profits over workers’ safety?