Labour | Pakistan

Former British government minister Peter Mandelson has resigned as a member of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party after new reports of his ties with disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein, media reported on Sunday. Mandelson, who was dismissed by Starmer as Britain’s ambassador to the United States last year after previous revelations about his connections to Epstein, said he did not wish to cause “further embarrassment” to Labour, the reports said. “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this,” Mandelson said in a letter to the Labour Party reported by the BBC and other news organisations, which Reuters was not immediately able to obtain. Mandelson said he believed allegations about financial payments to him by Epstein, which appeared in British media based on files released by the US Department of Justice, were false and he would investigate them. “While doing this, I do not wish to cause further embarrass...

Civil society rallied outside the Hyderabad Press Club (HPC) on Thursday in scorching heat to commemorate International Labour Day. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Pakistan has yet to ratify 55 of its conventions and protocols. While labour laws exist in the country, enforcement is weak, and despite government promises to create millions of jobs, issues like low pay, lack of social protection, and poor representation remain unresolved. Rallying outside HPC today, civil society called for education, social protection and empowerment for the labour community. People performed theatre and dances to celebrate the day. Here are a few pictures. Workers of the Sindh Peoples Labour Federation hold a rally to mark International Labour Day outside HPC on May 1. — Umair Ali Brick kiln peasants participate in a rally to mark International Labour Day organised by SPARK outside HPC on May 1. — Umair Ali Artists present street theatre during Labour Day rally organised by SPARK outside HPC on May 1....

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to announce a labour-friendly relief package on May 1, Labour Day, with a likely increase in the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) pension.