Key Takeaways
- Pakistan is developing a new National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Policy with support from the ILO.
- The policy aims to protect workers in both formal and informal sectors, including women and young workers.
- The process involves federal and provincial governments, employers, and workers.
Pakistan is making significant strides in advancing a new National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Policy, a move that seeks to enhance workplace safety and health across the country’s diverse economy. The initiative, convened by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (MOPHRD) and supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO), aims to bring together federal and provincial governments, employers, and workers to strengthen prevention and ensure a safe and healthy work environment.
The National Stakeholders’ Consultation in Islamabad recently reviewed the zero draft of the policy and its proposed implementation framework. This process engages a wide range of stakeholders, including occupational health and social protection institutions, industry, OSH professionals, academia, and other relevant parties. The policy is designed to protect workers in both formal and informal employment, recognizing the unique circumstances of women, young, and older workers, as well as persons with disabilities, migrant, home-based, domestic, agricultural, and platform workers.
Geir T Tonstol, ILO Country Director for Pakistan, emphasized the importance of the policy, stating, 'Pakistan is building this policy from the ground up. The process has started with evidence, moved through the provinces and brought employers and workers into the discussion. The aim is not simply to produce another policy document, but to develop a framework that Pakistan’s institutions can implement and workplaces can use.'
The policy process also responds to the rapidly changing world of work, where traditional workplace hazards increasingly intersect with extreme heat and climate change, chemical and biological hazards, technological change, psychosocial risks, and new forms of employment. The zero draft proposes a preventive and forward-looking approach, progressively extending protection to workers who may be harder to reach through conventional OSH systems.
Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and HRD, highlighted the importance of worker protection, saying, 'Pakistan’s economic progress must go hand in hand with the protection of the people who make that progress possible. A stronger national OSH framework can support safer workplaces, productive enterprises and Pakistan’s ambition to be a responsible and competitive participant in the global economy.'
The policy is intended to strengthen coherence while respecting Pakistan’s devolved system of labour governance. Provinces retain responsibility for implementation and enforcement within their respective jurisdictions, while national coordination can facilitate shared priorities, exchange of experience, comparable information, and engagement with International Labour Standards. Social dialogue is central to this approach, with the participation of the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan (EFP) and the Pakistan United Workers Federation (PUWF) alongside federal and provincial governments ensuring that the policy combines institutional priorities with the realities experienced by enterprises and workers.
Strengthening OSH also supports Pakistan’s broader decent-work and development agenda. The consultation also marks another step in Pakistan’s continuing consideration of the ILO’s fundamental OSH Conventions. The policy is intended to strengthen the legal, policy, institutional, and implementation environment and provide a robust framework for improving workplace safety and health.
Pakistan is building this policy from the ground up. The process has started with evidence, moved through the provinces and brought employers and workers into the discussion. The aim is not simply to produce another policy document, but to develop a framework that Pakistan’s institutions can implement and workplaces can use.
Geir T Tonstol, ILO Country Director for Pakistan
Pakistan’s economic progress must go hand in hand with the protection of the people who make that progress possible. A stronger national OSH framework can support safer workplaces, productive enterprises and Pakistan’s ambition to be a responsible and competitive participant in the global economy.
Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and HRD
