Joe’s Fashion, a garment factory in the Korangi Industrial Area of Karachi, earlier this year locked out its workforce of about a thousand employees. The owner then transferred all the machinery to a sister company located in an export processing zone guarded by private security. The same owner had recently closed another factory in a similar way, rendering 4,000 workers jobless. This technique is used to prevent workers from organising unions and seeking better pay and conditions. The National Trade Union Federation and the Pakistan Labour Federation are currently fighting these cases.
Joe’s Fashion, a garment factory in the Korangi Industrial Area of Karachi, earlier this year locked out its workforce of about a thousand employees. The owner then transferred all the machinery to a sister company located in an export processing zone guarded by private security. The same owner had recently closed another factory in a similar way, rendering 4,000 workers jobless. This technique is used to prevent workers from organising unions and seeking better pay and conditions. The National Trade Union Federation and the Pakistan Labour Federation are currently fighting these cases.
