Sindh to develop a uniform labor law covering all sectors

The Sindh government has decided to create a uniform labor law in the province by consolidating, simplifying and rationalizing the existing labor laws after due consultations.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah made the announcement on Friday while talking to a six-member delegation of the International Labor Organization (ILO) led by its country director Geir Tonsto at the CM House.

The CM thanked the ILO for providing technical assistance in drafting the Sindh Labor Code. “The draft Labor Code consolidates, simplifies and rationalizes 21 laws regulating issues such as occupational health and safety, labor relations and working conditions of employees,” he said.

The main advantage of comprehensive codification of labor laws was to provide common fundamental rights and obligations to enterprises and workers in all sectors, the CM said, adding that labor laws in the past varied arbitrarily from one sector to another.

Shah said the proposed law will make it much easier for businesses, including investors and employees, to navigate and understand the relevant regulations. He added that once the bill comes into force, regulators will have clarity on their roles and powers, definitions will be consistent across all processes and powers, outdated industry regulations will be eliminated, and contemporary problems will be solved.

The CM said the consolidated draft Labor Code would support the province in achieving the targets set out in the various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He stated that there are 19 laws included in the Sindh Labor Code. These included the Children (Work Promise) Act, the Industrial Statistics Act 1942, the Employment (Work Process) Act 1951, the Maternity Benefits Ordinance 1958, the Road Transport Workers Ordinance, the Tea Plantation Labor Act 1962, Employment Agencies Levy (Regulation) Act, Sindh Industrial Relations Act 2013, Sindh Payment of Wages Act, Minimum Wages Act, Conditions of Employment (Standing Orders) Act , Factories Act, Shops and Establishments Act, Company Profits (Employees’ Share) Act, Sindh Workers’ Compensation Act, Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 2015, Prohibition of Child Labor Act, 2017, Occupational Health and Safety Act 2017, Domestic Workers Act and Sindh Agricultural Workers Act 2019.

The ILO Country Director stressed the need to begin the process of discussing and finalizing the draft Labor Code through social dialogue before its submission to the legislature. He suggested developing a further regulatory framework through rules implementing the Code.

He mentioned that it is necessary to develop mechanisms and strategies to increase compliance in priority areas, as well as to provide capacity building and training to labor officials, inspectors, judicial representatives and other stakeholders.