The Pakistani Institute for labour, education and research (Piler) was founded in 1982, with the mission of creating a centre of education and of economic, social and cultural advancement for workers at risk. Through training, cultural activities and the carrying out of studies on sociological, economic and juridical problems; Piler supports the organization and collective defence of thousands of persons victims of bad luck and situations of high precarity.
Past actions include: support in creating and safeguarding workers’ associations, such as the Pakistani Fishers’ Forum (PFF) and the Karachi Homemade Goods Labourers’ Association (AKHGLA); organizing awareness campaigns, especially regarding the arbitrary incarceration of Indian and Pakistani fishers or the rights of Homemade Goods labourers in the south of Asia … Piler has hence allowed for thousands of people to mobilize, to know their rights and to develop their recognition as labourers and citizens individually and collectively.
As well as this field work, Piler leads extensive research for international organisations such as the International Labour Organization and UNICEF, and engages in discussions with Pakistani authorities on the question of reforming workers’ rights and social security. Vastly invested in the organization of unions coalitions in the south of Asia and in the promotion of local trade, Piler assumes the Pakistani administration of the South Asia Labourers’ Forum (SALF).
Piler is equally engages heavily in the peaceful resolution of conflicts between India and Pakistan; Piler is a founding member of the Indo-Pakistani Forum for Peace and Democracy (1994) and the Pakistani Coalition for Peace (1999).
Birth of a Partnership
Since the early 1990s, Frères des Hommes has decided to support the work led by Piler with small-scale traditional fishers, skilled homemade goods and construction workers, to ensure the respect of human rights, primarily economic and social. Concerned by Pakistani workers’ plight – in 2005 the informal sector of Pakistan was estimated at 80% with a high majority of women and children – Frères des Hommes decides to join Piler in it’s combat for workers’ rights.
