{
  "id": 8801699,
  "title": "Ghani tells PILER conference: Labour code will not be enforced without consultations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/ghani-tells-piler-conference-labour-code-will-not-be-enforced-without",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-20T23:53:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40440393/ghani-tells-piler-conference-labour-code-will-not-be-enforced-without-consultations"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani told the National Labour Conference 2026 that the proposed Sindh Labour Code would not be enforced without consulting with labour representatives. The government aimed for consensus rather than imposing the code on workers. The PILER conference gathered various stakeholders, including trade unionists, researchers, and policymakers, to discuss shared agendas for Pakistan's working class amid economic and climate challenges.\n\nPILER executive director Abbas Haider highlighted that the organization had spent over four decades educating and organizing workers, focusing on issues like wage theft, unfair dismissals, and harassment. He emphasized that economic pressure, weak enforcement of rights, privatization, and climate change were affecting working families, and their task was to turn this shared understanding into a shared agenda.\n\nThe conference addressed four sessions: the impact of the IMF programme on households, the gap between labour rights in law and practice, the future of public-sector workers amid privatization, and climate change and a just transition. Experts discussed Pakistan's trade deficit, debt stress, declining purchasing power, and stunted child growth due to inflation. Labour expert Abida Ali pointed out the wage gap between men and women and the need for international labour standards to be translated into local law.\n\nTrade unionists raised concerns about sectoral unions enabling collective bargaining at the macro level. The All Pakistan Coal Mines Labour Federation's president criticized unions being repressed in Balochistan and urged other provinces to speak out, sharing that 300 workers were killed annually in mine accidents. Latif Nizamani, president of the All Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Central Labour Union, called for an alliance of labour unions and organisations to protect workers' future amid privatisation.\n\nInternational labour standards, social security coverage for informal workers, and a just transition rooted in justice were also discussed. The conference concluded with recommendations for immediate enforcement of the statutory minimum wage, guaranteeing workers' rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, universal social security coverage, and acknowledging climate-related hazards as occupational safety risks.",
  "summary": "KARACHI: The proposed Sindh Labour Code would not be enforced without consultation with labour representatives, and no decision would be taken without reaching a consensus, Sindh Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani said at the National Labour Conference 2026 (NLC26) on Saturday. The government, he said, wanted to take everyone on board rather than impose the code on workers. The…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}