The Assessment of Implementation and Effectiveness of Labour Laws and Regulations in the Retail Sector of the Clothing Industry in Lahore, Pakistan

The report aims to identify the loopholes in the labour laws of the Province of Punjab, which are exploited by employers leading to the violation of fundamental rights of workers.The report focuses on workers employed in the retail sector of the clothing industry in Lahore, because of the importance of the city. Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan both in terms of the population and economy, and attracts workers from across Pakistan, especially Punjab. Being a provincial capital, Lahore is likely to have better enforcement of laws compared to other cities. There is no factual data available on the working conditions of the workers employed in this sector, as no comprehensive study has been conducted by the Federal Government of Pakistan, and by the provincial government of Punjab. In addition to this, no study has been conducted to assess the labour situation in the retail sector of the textile industry, by the private sector, including academia, NGOs, and INGOs. Thus, there is a severe dearth of information available, which this report aims to remedy.The report provides a concise summary of the relevant laws, such that readers who have no formal legal education can easily comprehend the current laws. Based on primary data collected through comprehensive interviews from 171 respondents, the report assesses the working conditions of the workers employed by the retail sector under applicable national laws and international obligations, and highlights the problems faced by the workers in the retail sector. By doing this, the report aims to reduce the dearth of data available on the working conditions of the workers in Pakistan