Labour in a changing world

The times, they are a-changin,” is a 1964 iconic song by legendary Bob Dylan. Times have even changed and evolved in the world of work, even in the Pakistani industrial relations ecosystem.

Gone are the days when ego-centric labour leaders wielded influence on members, energising them with demagoguery and rabble-rousing. Gone are the days when they would exert their self-generated importance to browbeat and intimidate employers. Within a few years, they faded away in the sunset. They rarely developed their successors. Narcissism prevailed over pragmatism.

A new cadre of labour leaders gradually came to the fore, but by that time the worker movement had lost steam, and the number of labour unions across the country had substantially declined; today, only about one per cent of enterprises have registered unions.