A few days ago, posts regarding Khaadi’s maltreatment of its employees starting trending on social media. According to these posts, Khaadi allegedly fired 32 factory workers. Most of the articles/posts are conflicted as to why Khaadi fired them, some of them claim that the workers were fired because they demanded an increase in their wages, while others cited downsizing as a reason. The downsizing theory doesn’t make sense, because Khaadi is a giant in the thriving Pakistani fashion industry, so why would they downsize by firing just 32 workers?
To get a more accurate picture, we got in touch with Nasir Mansoor, who is a member of National Trade Union Federation. He explained that 125 workers from Khaadi filed a complaint/NIRC with the labour department regarding unionization. The workers feared that they would get fired if they formed a union, which was the basis of their complaint, and Khaadi apparently assured them that there would be no repercussions if they unionized. The matter was settled in court, and Khaadi allegedly signed a legal document ensuring the workers that they would not be laid off. However, when the case was closed on the 23rd of May, 32 workers at their unit in Karachi were fired, thus sparking protests in Lahore. After the workers were allegedly fired for no particular reason, another complaint was filed on the 25th of May, which is scheduled to end on the 5th of July. The outcome so far, is unknown.
We talked to the factory workers who were fired, and they claimed that the working conditions were deplorable, they were being paid less than the minimum wage set by the government, which is PKR 15000 per month, and that they were now being harassed by their employers, a Colonel Bashir in particular, who is the administrator at one of these units.
Khaadi itself previously issued a statement that this whole scenario was hearsay, and that they had not fired anyone. However, when the situation got out of control and the issue spread like wildfire all over social media and digital news, they decided to reconsider their statement.
Recently, Khaadi and the National Trade Union Federation reached a consensus regarding the improvement of the abysmal working conditions and unfair wage practices at the Karachi Press Club. A paper was signed by both Khaadi and NTUF, reaching an agreement and apparently resolving the issue. The consensus will benefit over 6000 workers who could not have spoken up for themselves otherwise.
While there have been a lot of conspiracy theories and falsifications regarding the incident, we should keep an open mind, look at the evidence objectively, and make an informed decision by ourselves.
Kluchit Staff
Ameera Mehmood
