May Day 2025 Rally participants call for the implementation of Minimum Wage
Press Release
Lahore – 1st May 2025
“There are around 912000 domestic workers in the Punjab province and majority of them are women. But their labor is exploited to large extent. The menace of child domestic labor is rampant, taking a form of modern slavery. Implementing the Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2019, the Punjab govt. should ensure implementation of minimum wage of Rs.37000-/, frame rules of business without further delay, register domestic workers with PESSI, issue social security cards to workers for effective implementation of the law. Without strict enforcement of existing labor laws and stronger policy measures, vulnerable women workers will continue to suffer exploitation and abuse at the hands of employers.”
These views were expressed by the speakers of May Day seminar, organized in connection with International Labor Day 2025, today (Thursday) by Women Domestic Workers Union-Punjab, in collaboration with WISE (women in struggle for Empowerment) here at Lahore Press Club. A large number of women domestic workers, trade union workers and social activists joined the event, followed by a public rally from Press club to Charring Cross, led by leaders of Women Domestic Workers Union. The rally participants were chanting slogans and carrying banners and placards inscribed with demands in favor of domestic workers.
Addressing the participants of seminar, Ms. Bushra Khaliq, Executive Director WISE, said according to a survey of Punjab Bureau of Statics, there are around 912000 domestic workers in the province. Out of which over 80% are women who are vulnerable to discrimination in respect of working conditions, terms of employment and to other abuses of human rights. They are forced to face issues like long and unlimited working hours, violence and multiple forms of abuse at work, forced/child labor, lack of minimum wage, lack of labor inspection and law enforcement. Despite the domestic workers law in Punjab, in the last five years they are not being registered with PESSI. She urged the Punjab Govt. to frame rules of business without further delay for effective implementation of the law.
Quoting the figures from research by WISE during the period of (January 2019 to April 2025) Bushra said 189 cases of violence against child domestic workers were reported in Punjab. During this period (76 months), Child domestic workers (94 Girls and three boy) were tortured to death while 22 rapes, 3 kidnapping, and 29 were subjected to severe violence causing injuries. However, it can be assumed that in the wake of invisible nature of the work and insufficient media coverage these numbers may be much more. Astonishingly in all the 189 cases, the victims were girls as young as 4-15 years.
Speaking on the occasion President of the Women Domestic Workers Union, Punjab, Shenaz Ajmal demanded of the govt. to ensure implementation of minimum wage notification of Rs 37000-/and introduce skill development programs for the DWs. The Punjab Employees Social Security Institute (PESSI) should establish DWs welfare Fund, register DWs and issue them social security cards. Maternity leave for women Domestic workers be increased from 6-weeks 12-weeks, she demanded adding that domestic workers be registered with EOBI and provided cheap transport facility.
General secretary DW union Shehnaz Fatima urged the federal govt to ratify ILO Convent C-189 to ensure decent work, take policy measures towards the speedy compliance of SDGs:5, gender equality and end child domestic labor. She urged the provincial govt. to launch public awareness campaign for the protection and promotion of the rights of domestic workers as majority of employers are unaware of their legal responsibilities. They need to become good employers by treating the domestic workers with the dignity and respect and ensure decent working conditions for them.
Addressing the participants, General Secretary Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, Farooq Tariq said Women domestic workers are backbone of the Care Economy, but their labor is exploited by the employers. He demanded of the govt. to accept the just demands of the domestic workers and issue them social security cards. Dilating upon the history of May Day he said, no movement can be successful without women’s meaningful participation. Stressing the need for workers unity, he said a joint struggle for labor rights is need of the hour.
Irfan Mufti, Deputy Director, South Asia Partnership (SAP-PK), said the plight of these domestic workers in Pakistan remains a source of shame for the country, yet little has been done to address the potential for abuse of such workers, almost all of whom hail from the most economically downtrodden segments of society. The lack of awareness about legal rights and protections is a pressing issue for domestic workers in Punjab as many are unaware of their entitlements under the law, such as fair wages, reasonable working hours, and safe working conditions, he added. He said the Joint Action Committee – Punjab fully support the demands of the domestic workers and urge the Punjab govt. to register them with PESSI and issue social security cards.
Social activist Abdul Khaliq said the child domestic work is rampant across the country as every fourth household in Pakistan engages a child domestic worker. These innocent workers are silently abused, tortured and murdered inside the boundary walls. Children below legal age are continued to be employed, and the number of cases where domestic workers are facing physical abuse and exploitation is increasing.
Former Vice President, Lahore High Court Bar Association, Rabbiya Bajwa advocate expressed solidarity with the cause of domestic workers. She said the exploitation of domestic workers goes beyond a lack of workers’ rights. Employers often mistreat their domestic workforce. Young workers have been beaten for minor mistakes. Some households “separate” their domestic workers’ eating utensils so they do not mix with the family’s dishes. Nannies or “ayahs” are sometimes made to sit apart from the family if they go out to eat. Verbal, financial, and sexual abuse is widely prevalent. Most such cases go unreported due to fear of retribution, she repented.
At the end of the seminar the women workers sung revolutionary songs to forge workers unity and labor solidarity. The seminar was followed by domestic workers public rally outside the Press club, led by leaders of Women Domestic Workers Union. The rally participants were chanting slogans and carrying banners and placards inscribed with demands in favor of domestic workers.
Released by:
Bushra Khaliq
Executive Director – WISE
