A monument be erected at the place where the burnt-out facade of the Baldia garments factory stands and the culprits behind the country’s deadliest fire that claimed 259 lives on September 11, 2012 be arrested, demanded the families of the victims on the third anniversary of the incident. Congregated in front of the Baldia factory where they were received with red flags on Friday, the families once again relived the evening when the fire broke out in the factory claiming hundreds of lives apart from injuring countless others. Organised by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), the memorial reference made most people break down from time to time as they discussed their ordeal after losing their loved ones. Sitting with the pictures of their loved ones, some of them were made to sit on the stage where they shared their stories one by one and demanded justice for those left behind. The owners of the factory have been bailed out while allegations on a political party in Karachi have also not yet been proven. The last we heard of the case was in August when the joint investigation team, for some reason, was sent to London to follow an unknown lead. The case has gone down many a blind alley with the political classes only interested in the case if the issue could be blamed on another political party. Workers were never part of the conversation – and will not be even now. Instead of parliament focusing on creating new laws for workers safety, and the executive office making the enforcement of industrial safety standards across the country a surety, nothing has changed for Pakistan’s workers. Another tragedy like the Baldia Town fire is even now just one mistake away. Only last week, a factory in Karachi caught fire. Thankfully, there was no major loss of life. But this is a matter of luck, not due to any changes enacted to ensure that all factories follow a minimum safety guideline. Not only is no one enforcing the rights of workers and industrial safety regulations, nothing has been done to upgrade the basic safety requirements according to modern requirements. The horrific Baldia factory fire has never become part of the national discourse as an issue of workers’ rights. The media coverage of it continues to place it as a means of political point-scoring. Three years after the horrific fire, Pakistan has learnt nothing about providing its workers the protection they have a right to.
pk.shafaqna.com
