LAHORE – Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), while welcomingvarious government’s policy initiatives and schemes at domestic level toachieve sustainable growth, modernization and value addition, urged thegovernment to also direct the embassies and missions abroad to counter thepropaganda against Pakistan textile industry, which constitutes more than60 per cent of Pakistan’s total exports.
Chairman PHMA Adil Butt said in a media statement that authoritiesconcerned should also focus on presenting Pakistan real and soft image tothe world that would definitely help enhance country’s exports.
He suggested that Pakistan’s foreign missions abroad should make all-outefforts to enhance the country’s exports, attract foreign investment andhelp stop foreign agencies wrong campaign against Pakistan export industryregarding human rights violation.Rejecting the Human Rights Watch Report, he said that there was noviolation of labour laws in Pakistan’s garment industry, as these had nochild labour but encouraged the women workers, claiming that severalgarment units constituted over 80 percent women workers.
Adil Butt said it is crystal clear that Generalized System of PresencesPlus (GSP Plus) status by European Union was conditionalupon Pakistan to ensure ratification and compliance of 27 InternationalConventions on human and labour rights, governance and environment;including eight core Labour Standards of International Labour Organization(ILO).
The scheme, he said was extended after investigation of the state of labourmarket governance with reference to the core ILO Conventions and relatedlabour laws regime in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, PHMA Senior Vice Chairman Kashif Zia said that continuity of GSPPlus benefits hinged on the effective compliance of the ratified ILOConventions.
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Current labour market governance in Pakistan garment industry fully met theterms stipulated by the core labour standards adding that federal andprovincial governments had undertaken necessary legislation to removediscrepancies with the ratified ILO Conventions. He said the PHMA on behalfof garment industry, rejects the allegations of Human Rights Watch andadded that foreign companies would have stopped sourcing from factories ifthey were not meeting labour standards.
Kashif Zia said, “Our members cater to some of the top brands in the worldand are compliant with both labour and environmental regulations of thecountry and those followed internationally. And there was no evidence ofwidespread malpractice. Our factories continuously follow labour laws,global standards and had no child labour and zero discrimination againstwomen”, he added.
The Senior Vice Chairman PHMA mentioned that European Union (EU) Missionlast year visited Islamabad from October 22-29 to monitor implementation ofthe GSP Plus conditions, due to which Pakistan’s exports to 28 countriesbloc increased by 47 per cent since 2014.
On January 19, 2018, he added, European Commission released a report(2016-17) on Pakistan’s compliance with 27 UN conventions where Pakistangarment industry shown its compliance for extension of GSP Plus status. -APP
