Baldia town tragedy; what changes in Two years

At a short distance from the Sheer Shah flyover toward Hub Chowki there stands a three story building, with black smoky windows. Some blocked with concrete blocks and others left open, staring with darkness at the estranged public from behind the rusty iron grills. The building with its sealed entrance holds one of the darkest secrets of the society. The secret of hard-to-death life and the miseries of what happens to working class on daily bases.

The mysterious building of Ali Enterprise is located in Baldia town of Karachi, on the busy road catches the look of every passerby. Many times since the building took its current shape I have been on that road passing by the building and not even for a single time it was possible to look away. A small concentration of thoughts will take me to back in the past when the same windows were breathing fire like angry dragons. The black gazing windows were than roaring with horrifying sounds of fire mixed up with screaming voices of the trapped worker. There was a huge crowd around the building. Among the crowd were thousands of families of the workers who were then burning alive in that building.

It was Tuesday, September 11, 2012, the same day when the world was mourning the deaths in Twin Towers attack. Estranged with the outside world, the thousands of workers of Ali Enterprise were lined up on the machines. They had to fill the demand from the Germen textile discounter the KIK. Many other workers were waiting at the small entrance of the factory to get their nominal wages. On the mean time a boiler situated on the first floor of the factory exploded. The garment stuff and chemicals placed there caught fire. And in a blink the fire reached the third flour burning to ashes the middle floor and the basement. The garment making turned into hell, hundreds of workers trapped inside the building with only a single exit.

The raise of industrialization placed hundreds and thousands of peoples working in a chain of production where they were prone to mass casualties. Mass deaths from building collapses, accidental explosions, and fire incidents have become daily happenings. But with these incidents human has learnt measures to remain safe and minimize the chances of loss.

There are many such incidents which on the cost of human lives proved turning points in the course of history. About a century ago, On Saturday, March 25, 1911, fire brook out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory situated in a ten story building in New York. The fire was the deadliest industrial in the USA that took the lives of 146 people. The incident famed the public demand for the safety at workplace and other labor reforms. As a result, many initiatives were taken which led to historic developments regarding occupational safety. It results in reforms on various levels for better working conditions and worker safety. It opened up ways for stronger unions that became the institutional means to monitor the occupational safety and to lobby for further reforms.

The victim families have been struggling since the three nights they spent in front of the factory gate during the incident. Their struggle took them to courts, governments offices, seminars and media events but only to get hollow promises. Finding no way out but a long struggle, the victim families gathered up and found an association. The Association of the Affectees of Baldia Tragedy. The main objectives of the association read, compensation to the affected families and to prevent such tragedies in future.

Muhammad Jabir is father of 22 year’s old Muhammad Jahanzaib, who lost his life in that building in front of his eyes. Jabir continued his struggle as the organizer of the Affectees Association. Talking to the writer the poverty-stricken father narrated how hard it was to send their young son to this hell. “My son was so young when I sent him to the factory. He was 15 when for the first time I took him there but he was expelled after working two years because of not having CNIC. Than he was again hired after getting his CNIC. The working conditions there were not good and also they paid low wages but poverty compelled us to send our young child there” he added.

Jabir was now determined and would like to be known as labour right activist rather than just a victim father. “Though we were struggling for one and a half year for compensations and justice but we find no hope. Nether government nor the courts seem serious in taking up our cases" said Jabir. He feels the need of hour to equip themselves for their rights. He went on saying "also we have not been fully equipped to present our cases in an effective way. But formation of the Association give us the way, now we can better represent our case and the authorities have started paying attention. We have achieved many of our goals. Alongside our own case we will also struggle for a change in working conditions in other factories.”

Along with Muhammad Jabir, Din Muhammad and Abdul Aziz are on the front line in the struggle. Din Muhammad lost his younger son Aabid Ali, 19, who was working at Ali Enterprise as machine operator for three years. Abdul Aziz is father of deceased Attahullah, 18, who was working there since he was a child of 13. Abdul Aziz himself had worked on a power loom at Tando Jam. 

Din Muhammad said that he used to take lunch for his son where he found the factory nothing but a hell. According to him the two adjacent buildings of the Ali Enterprises were constructed in such a way to block any unauthorized exit. He said that the factory owners were known of such situation that was why they managed to escape the scene soon after the fire erupted but the workers were trapped in. According to Din Muhammad “There had already been two fire incident in the factory before this incident. However, instead of improving safety measures the management turned stricter to the workers. On the day of incident, we stood outside the building and were watching the game of death, the memories of the incident still disturb us.”

Abdul Aziz lost his son Attaullah. He said that with his son two nephews also worked at Ali Enterprise but they left the work due to less pay and hard working conditions.

The struggle seemed to have started paying as families got some of the compensation amount. But apart from the financial compensation there is no remedy for loss of beloveds who were breadwinners for most of the families. According to Muhammad Jabir most of the families were left with no one to look after them. The small financial compensation is used to arrange permanent homes, paying debts and fulfilling basic necessities.

The Association of affected families is a progressive step, along with their front line representatives all the families are now on a single page for their rights. The families through the association got exposure to the rights and the condition of working class across the country. They have also represented their cases in front of the International Labor Organizations (ILO) team. The ILO team had visited Pakistan last month and are lodging cases in Germany against the discounter KIK, and in Italy against the certification company RINA.

The incident invoked the need for labor organizations which were all together prohibited at all private factories. The Association of the affected families is playing a role to educate the workers and their families to stood up for their rights opening up ways for effective labour unions.

Besides the victim families the trade unions also remained active to play their role under the tripartite system of ILO. The system makes the government, employer, and worker representatives the parties on the labor standards and policies. The role had been played prominently by the National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan (NTUF) and some others who claim trust of the victim families.

Nasir Mansoor is a prominent labor union leader and the general secretary of NTUF. Mansoor is updated on the issue of Ali Enterprises and other factories which he thought are on the brink of similar incidents. According to Mansoor, “Industrialization in our country arrived without changing the mindset of our ruling class who still sees their workers as personal servants as they work on the fields under feudalism, they hire workers on contract based and without paying for social security’s tries to get more and more profits. This thing also affects the industrial production in the country, without long term investment and ensuring social security the economy of country will always remain stagnant.” He says the labor unions are must in factories, which can organize and educate the workers and also will also remain as the whistle-blowers in such tragic situations.

The Baldia town incident has also opened up the debate over the large factories working with international partners, and also manage to remain out from the grip of law. There are many other companies which hold the same certification like that of Ali Enterprises. According to Nasir Mansoor the list of companies has been provided to the Sindh High Court but the action is yet to be taken.

There are also flaws in the legal system and can be dodged easily by the factory owners. Nasir Mansoor sees the strong influence of factory owners over the political system as major reason behind this, “after this incident first time in the history of Pakistan the factory owners faced the law but still they have too much amenities. The employers escape the law and also use force to stop workers from making unions and raise their voice. The legal system is yet to ratify the ILO conventions and also failed to bring the existing laws in effect.”

The lawyers in the case are also counting the gains, although a little is achieved and much more remain underachieved. Advocate Faisal Siddiqui is following the case in the Sindh High Court for the compensation for families. Siddiqui claims that this case is historic in nature and due to continuous struggle compensation had started being paid to the families, “the compensation given to the families does’t only support the families but also it has the effect over the employers and help ensure the safety measures in the work place. If we successfully get the entire amount claimed, it will set an example for other companies.” According to Siddiqui the current legal system gives the employer so many relaxations and needs some basic changes. Currently Factories act 1935 is in effect which only has few articles on health and safety and also has useless punishments for the employers who violate the laws. A new health and occupational safety law is under consideration which might prove a significant development.

The fire incident at Ali enterprise had turned up into a movement for occupational health and safety. The comradeship of affectees, debate on new laws and financial compensations seems paying off. These post-tragedy developments highlight the hopes for the most venerable and least priorities class of the society.

But still like the black marks on the windows of Ali Enterprise building there are hundreds question unanswered. These questions posed to the industrialization, the legal system, the state institutions and the senselessness as a nation setting on a time bomb. With every next tragedy it asks us how many human bombs are to explode, and how much blood needs to flow to open the eyes. And for how long will the government keep playing in the hands of factory owners, and the laws will protect bloodshed, and the society will keep watching senselessly? for how long.