Thousands of labourers are working to their deaths at stone-crushing and silica-emitting plants across the country, but particularly in Punjab, at an alarming rate, with little regulatory framework to offer them any protection or compensation.
This was discovered in an investigative study by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) titled "Fighting to Breathe". The comprehensive report was authored by investigator Usama Khawar and was conducted by HRCP through its IA Rehman Research Grant Series.
The report came about after concerns were raised over deaths caused due to the lung disease, silicosis - most common among those working at or near stone-crushing plants. Stone-crushing plants, it said, dot the country. They mine rocks from quarries and then crush them to create gravel which is used at various stages of construction - from roads to buildings. The report delved into poor occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions in Punjab's stone-crushing factories, where workers -- devoid of even the most basic of protection equipment such as face masks -- face grave risks of contracting terminal lung diseases such as silicosis.
Moreover, the report's author, Khawar, had filed a representation before the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2014 following the deaths of 18 labourers from his native village in Gujranwala.
The report compiled data on silicosis-related deaths across Punjab. It cited three factors used to determine whether a death was caused by silicosis. These included the symptoms they reported while sick, the fact that respiratory failure was mentioned as the cause of death, and if they worked at or near stone-crushing plants, which would expose them to high doses of silica particles in the air.
The report found that the average age for patients who died due to silicosis was just 29, with the youngest fatality recorded in a 15-year-old.
However, the most common age at which labourers died was 25.
According to the report, the number of silicosis-related deaths determined in Punjab from 2008 to 2022 was 165. This includes 91 deaths in Dera Ghazi Khan, 46 in Gujranwala and the remaining 28 split between Hafizabad and Sheikhpura.
In 2022-2023, at least 318 labourers reported symptoms of silicosis in Punjab.
Labourers interviewed for the report revealed that deaths tend to occur in clusters of workers and mostly amongst migrant workers and overwhelmingly peasants from South Punjab, who take to working in stone-crushing factories citing the lack of other economic opportunities.
It also meant that men from the same family often end up working at the same factory, which contributed to the cluster effect in fatalities among workers.
Khalid Hanjra, a 45-year-old labourer from the Nutt Kallar village of Gujranwala, has been battling silicosis for over a decade.
He said he lost two brothers and four cousins to the lung disease.
Unlike him, however, they never received a formal diagnosis of what afflicted them. Hanjra believed that they were likely victims of silicosis.
The report noted that a lack of practical implementation of the legal framework to safeguard workers' rights and OSH was one of the key obstacles in protecting labourers, while scarce or non-existent unions within the stone-crushing industry also hindered efforts to protect labourers.
The report lamented the limited prosecution of factory owners in work-related silicosis cases and low recovery rates for compensation awards.
The report suggested the government set up a legal and regulatory framework at the national level, which imposes technical standards, technical advisory services, effective inspection mechanisms, and proper reporting systems to guard against the spread of silicosis.
The authorities must support the regulatory framework and empower them to carry out their functions and give labourers legal recourse in cases of ineffective implementation.
"At the micro level, there need to be controls instituted at the enterprise level. For this, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) recommends adopting appropriate technologies to avoid the formation of silica-containing dust, the use of dust control mechanisms, compliance with regulatory standards for exposure limits, and surveillance of the work environment to assess the effectiveness of preventive mechanisms and detect exposure to the disease early," the report recommended.
The report further recommended that the OSH councils envisaged under the Punjab Occupational Safety and Health Act 2019 must be immediately instituted and provided with the requisite human and financial resources to enforce the law.
It further recommended establishing an effective system that documents and reports cases of silicosis in Punjab to help assess the scale of the disease.
"The government should actively encourage the establishment of labour unions by empowering trade union registrars and imposing penal consequences on such officials if they fail to uphold their mandate," the report recommended.
It further recommended the establishment of screening centres in areas close to stone-crushing plants to facilitate the early diagnosis of silicosis amongst workers.
It emphasised that employers must provide free health insurance to all workers at stone-crushing factories so that their families can avail financial relief and easier access to healthcare.
The report also urged the government to establish a special commission to proactively identify all victims of silicosis, their legal heirs and determine the quantum of compensation they are entitled to.
The report recommended that inspectors fine factory owners for failing to follow proper protective guidelines and exposing their workers to the disease.
"Individual factory owners must be held liable to pay for the treatment of workers who have contracted silicosis," it concluded.
The report urged all stakeholders to take immediate action to address these critical issues and work collaboratively to improve the conditions and rights of vulnerable workers in Pakistan's stone-crushing industry.