HYDERABAD: The government has failed not only to protect rights of farm workers and peasants in agriculture sector related to their occupational health and safety but has on the contrary created favourable conditions for big landlords to exploit and abuse their employees, according to the Hari Welfare Association (HWA).

The association`s president, Akram Ali Khaskheli, said in a statement issued here on Wednesday that rural workers and peasants were not adequately protected from hazards during work in agriculture sector.

He said that an estimated number of over 10 million people in Sindh were engaged in agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors, who often faced occupational health and safety issues.

He said that under the Sindh Industrial Relations Act, 2013, rural workers were given right to form associations to negotiate with landowners or employers for collective rights, including their right to be compensated for the injuries or deaths occurring at the agricultural workplace.

He said that due to a lack of awareness among and limited effectiveness of the workers` associations, rural workers remained unorganised thus unable to advocate for their rights, including the right to be protected from occupational hazards such as pesticides, fertilisers, and insecticides.

He noted that many workers and peasants frequently suffered injuries and had their arms and legs cut by agricultural tools yet they received no compensation for the injuries or loss of limbs from landlords, employers or government agencies.

He said that there was a lack of mechanism to record occupational health injuries in farm sector, which led to long-term disabilities for adults, who were breadwinners, resulting in increased dependency on charity and philanthropy.

He said the government failed not only to protect rights related to occupational health and safety in agriculture sector but created favourable conditions for big landlords to exploit and abuse workers and peasants.

He called for increasing number of labour inspectors in Sindh to monitor implementation of agriculture-related laws, and establishment of a mechanism to support injured and deceased peasants and workers at agricultural workplaces.

He urged the government to ensure registration of peasants in revenue record so that landlords could be held accountable for compensating workplace accidents.