KARACHI: The Employers’ Federation of Pakistan and the GIZ of Germany had a very exclusive meeting to discuss a common strategy to highlight the issues faced by the textile sector, and to initiate projects for mutual cooperation and collaboration for industries in the textile sector in Sindh, especially Karachi. The EFP team included President Malik Tahir Javaid, Former President Majyd Aziz, Director Humayun Nazir, Secretary General Syed Nazar Ali. GIZ was represented by Yulia Bazhenova, Paul Steimer, and Noor Khan.
The meeting also discussed, in detail, the ILO International Labour Environment Standards, and the Sustainable Development Projects of GIZ and it was mutually agreeable that both organizations will have common objectives to further the sustainability and viability of the textile sector. The emphasis was on compliance with occupational safety and health, gender equality, employment of people with disabilities and marginalized populations, and ensuring that the textile sector very seriously complies with the environment.
Both the organizations agreed that Pakistan’s export base is primarily textiles which also employs a large number of workers and contributes to the foreign revenue of the Country, therefore, emphasis should be focused on ensuring the acceptance of not only the international labor and environment standards but also take into account the ILO better work program and the core conditionalities prescribed by international brands.
EFP and GIZ also accepted the fact that there is an imperative need to enhance productivity and efficiency, reduce wastage, reduce absenteeism and reduce the effluence from negatively impacting the environment. The meeting also discussed the PowerPoint presentation explaining the initiatives undertaken by EFP which was explained by the Secretary General.