By Qamar Uz Zaman
May Day is not merely a date on the calendar; it is a revolutionary saga etched in blood. It is the legacy of Chicago’s martyred labor leaders who, standing on the scaffold, declared that though their voices might be silenced today, the grinding stone of their struggle would tomorrow shatter the mill of oppression. This is not just a historical event; it is an enduring spark of courage and rebellion for workers in every age. The blood spilled by police bullets in Chicago’s Haymarket in 1886, the innocent labor leaders unjustly hanged, and the hard-won victory of the eight-hour workday, all serve as a potent reminder that the fight against exploitation is the very key to emancipation. Today, the working class of Pakistan and the world carries forward this historic struggle.
In Punjab, Pakistan, the sit-in of health workers and the protests against the privatization of hospitals and schools; in Sindh, the mobilization of paramedics; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the years-long struggle of teachers and health sector employees; the relentless fight of NADRA workers; the simmering rage against wage cuts and soaring inflation and this is just the tip of the iceberg. On one hand, the farmer receives such paltry returns for his wheat crop that his five months of toil and investment yield less than a parent’s pocket money for a child. While the farmer grapples with the prices of his produce, on the other hand, instead of introducing innovative agricultural methods and augmenting water resources, the lifeblood of the Sindh River is being choked, and devastating imperialist projects like corporate farming are being imposed. These schemes will not only harm smallholders, but will also further deplete already scarce water resources. Under the guise of resettlement in Cholistan, this project will deprive existing cultivated lands of water. Sindh will be plunged into deeper drought, environmental catastrophe will escalate, and the denial of a fundamental resource like water in an agrarian society will only breed further unemployment and social devastation. Such policies, which divert water from one region or province to irrigate another, inevitably leading to the desertification of the deprived areas, will fracture the unity of the working class, causing irreparable damage to the class struggle. In this context, the recent resistance of the working people of Sindh stands as a testament to their courage and significance, forcing the state into retreat. However, these rulers will not hesitate to strike back.
Today, modern forms of struggle are emerging. But the crucial difference lies in the fact that the contemporary worker faces not only the capitalist or feudal lord but also a weak, ideologically bankrupt, and self-serving leadership. Instead of safeguarding the movement from fragmentation, this leadership entangles it in its own petty political interests. Inflation has left the working class with cold hearths. Privatization has turned education and healthcare into the exclusive domains of the wealthy, and the contract system has reduced the laborer to a modern-day slave. But the fundamental question remains: will the working class unite and launch a decisive offensive against this oppression? Before answering this, let us examine the backdrop of the labor movement in Pakistan.
The decline of the labor movement in Pakistan since the 1990s is the outcome of a deliberate economic and political agenda. The neoliberal policies imposed under the pressure of global financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank have spawned privatization, downsizing, deregulation, and other anti-worker, anti-people measures. Over the past three decades, more than 150 state-owned enterprises have been sold off (or destroyed) under the guise of privatization, including behemoths like PTCL and Pakistan Steel. The former directly employed 80,000 workers in the recent past, while the latter provided livelihoods to approximately 30,000 workers until 1980. Following privatization, their lands and assets were plundered by capitalists. According to World Bank figures from 2019, only 12 per cent of privatized entities maintained their productive capacity. Workers were rendered jobless under the pretext of retrenchment packages, while the new owners prioritized profit-making through the sale of properties and assets rather than enhancing or sustaining production. Textile mills in Karachi and the lands of state-owned farms in Punjab were sold off to the real estate mafia. The PML-N, PPP, PTI, and all other mainstream parties have embraced these anti-labor policies. A network of economic plunderers was established in the parliament, providing legal cover to the loot of the sugar mafia, the private power sector, and the scandals of corporate farming.
However, the weakness of the labor movement is not solely a result of state repression; it also stems from ideological decay. Indeed, it is this ideological decline (in which the collapse of the Soviet Union played a significant role) that emboldened the rulers to attack national assets and the working class. Trade union leaderships have confined the interests of workers to the courts and the media. It takes an average of seven years for cases to be decided in labor courts (Pakistan Labour Journal, 2023). The recruitment of lawyers into federations has transformed the movement into a bourgeois legalistic charade. The tragic death of Nestle worker Asif Jutt starkly illustrates that within Pakistan’s 133rd-ranked judiciary, the performance of labor courts is the most abysmal. In 2023, the teachers’ movement in Punjab was not defeated by state-sponsored baton charges and arrests. It was leadership’s treacherous compromises that forced this magnificent movement into retreat. During this movement, over 1200 teachers were arrested but despite the unparalleled sacrifices of grassroots activists, the betrayal of the upper echelons of leadership led to the movement’s defeat.
It is in the wake of leadership betrayals and continuous decline the anti-worker law named ‘Unicode’ is being introduced. The labor bureaucracy presented itself for its implementation. This legislation aims to dismantle trade unions and force workers into individual contracts. It contains clauses that effectively nullify the significance of trade unions and CBAs. This is a law designed to strengthen the contract labor system, where workers will have to relinquish almost all their previously acquired fundamental rights. A factory worker will no longer be an employee of the factory but will be hired under a contract, and the contractor will treat him like a football, selling him to whichever factory, institution, or sector he desires. A fertilizer worker could be sent to a sugar mill or a cement factory. Thus, instead of having a permanent workplace, the worker will be constantly adrift. This will also deprive him of the five per cent share in the annual profits of a stable factory. When a worker won’t have a fixed sector, factory, or organization, he will also lose all the facilities associated with a defined or permanent workplace. Consequently, the housing, children’s education, and healthcare rights of the worker’s family, though perhaps existing on paper, will be practically abolished. Contract work essentially means precarious employment.
This is a horrifying future being crafted with the assistance of the so-called International Labour Organization (ILO) and its local agents, and it is being labeled ‘UniCode’. The working class is filled with deep resentment and outrage against this law, but the problem, once again, lies in leadership and organization. Labor federations and worker leaderships across Pakistan (with a few exceptions) have practically lost their relevance. Instead, they are becoming obstacles in the path of the movement. Without the revival and expansion of these labor organizations on revolutionary foundations, there is no hope for the betterment of the working class’s plight.
Similarly, the most significant attack today is being waged against the public healthcare system and educational institutions. The public sector healthcare infrastructure, built over 70 years with the taxes of the people, is being handed over to private sector contractors. Before this is done, millions of employees are being laid off. These very employees, who were previously relatively well-paid government servants with additional benefits, will be forced to offer their services at shamefully low wages in the private sector.
According to a 2024 report by the Private Schools Association, 62 per cent of teachers in private schools currently earn less than 15,000 PKR (53$) per month. In private hospitals, most low-grade employees are paid between 12,000 to 15,000 rupees for twelve-hour shifts. Even the wages of doctors and nurses are inadequate, while their working hours are excruciatingly long. However, the privatization of public schools and hospitals will lead to further unemployment, which will pave the way for even lower wages and increased exploitation (a similar plan is being implemented by Trump in the public sector in the United States). The closure of 28 departments in Pakistan threatens to leave 1.5 million employees jobless.
The conversion of 45,000 employees of Utility Stores to contract labor has affected three hundred thousand families, and this process is ongoing. Currently, health department employees across Punjab are in protest. Their demonstrations continue throughout the province, including Lahore. but, failing to learn from the past, a grave mistake is being repeated. This movement is still confronting all forms of state repression and other attacks in isolation, with other organizations or sectors failing to forge any solidarity with it. This is why the state found an opportunity to dismantle the key sit-in on Mall Road, Lahore and arrest the leadership. If this movement of hospital employees achieves victory, it will boost the morale of workers in other institutions facing privatization, but in case of defeat, the ruling class will find it easier to attack employees in other sectors. The fundamental agenda of this May Day should be that all unions of schools immediately become part of the movement of hospital employees. Similarly, trade unions, associations, and other organizations in other sectors must join forces with the Grand Health Alliance and play their role in this struggle. Not only trade unions, but all progressive organizations, should also play their part in building a broad public alliance against privatization to garner public support for this movement. Active left-wing activists should launch a campaign for workers’ rights on social media. Anti-privatization banners should be displayed in May Day rallies and gatherings, and public opinion should be shaped through slogans. The crucial point to convey to the common people is that if public educational institutions and healthcare facilities are handed over to contractors, then every day, millions of students and patients seeking education and treatment will be plunged into the darkness of ignorance and incurable diseases. The implication is clear: those with money will be able to buy education and healthcare. The children of the poor will remain uneducated, and those afflicted by diseases will be condemned to a slow and agonizing death.
Leon Trotsky, the architect of the Russian Revolution, said that life targets the weak. The working class must prove through its unity and struggle that it is neither weak nor will it remain silent in the face of any attack. The only condition, and this is the very message of May Day this year, that the movement must be ideologically strong, organizationally disciplined, and free of the treachery and compromises of its leadership, and it must link the resistance against immediate attacks with the broader national and international class struggle against capitalism. To do this, we must take to the streets and once again raise the battle cry of Karl Marx: “The workers have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!”
