President and PPP Co Chairman Expresses solidarity with workers on May Day

Islamabad, April 30 2011: Expressing solidarity with the workers and wage earners on May Day today (Sunday) Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the government would do everything possible for the emancipation of the working classes and to ensure dignity, honour and decent living to them.

 

He said that the May Day today reminded us of the “promises made to the workers to improve their lot and bring to an end their exploitation and also review the progress made thus far”.

 

The PPP has traditionally derived its strength from the labor, the peasants and the daily wage earners and it is determined to free them from exploitation, the message said.

 

The President also recounted the steps taken by the present government to address the issues of working classes in the last three years.

 

A host of measures have been taken but three stand out as major steps for labor welfare during the last three years, he said. These included the restoration in service of the sacked employees through legislation, the restoration of the trade union activities and the introduction of the Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme offering 12% stock shares to workers in state run enterprises, he said.

 

He said that the Benazir Stock Option Scheme had not only benefited five hundred thousand families of workers and labor but also, for the first time, enabled workers partake in the national productive process. The workers have been assured job security as they could no longer be sacked without assigning any reason. These measures have enhanced the dignity of the labor.

 

The President said that a dissatisfied work force caused decline in low productivity and also contributed to industrial unrest. It is therefore also in national interest to improve the lot of the working classes and protect them from exploitation, he said.

 

The President also paid tributes to the Chicago martyrs for their struggle against oppressive socio-economic system a century ago, saying that in laying down their lives they lit the path for generations of workers to come.