Labour class was always led up the garden path by the politicians

Today labourers all over the world are observing International Labour Day. On this day those labour leaders and workers are remembered who sacrificed their lives for the achievement of whatever rights which the working class enjoy today. But for their sacrifices, the labour class would not have obtained many facilities and benefits which they enjoy today. They haven’t reached their final destination as yet. It is still far away, particularly, in the third world countries where the greedy mill owners or business tycoons continue to exploit them economically. The tragedy with the labour movement in this country has been inconsistency and lack of honest and effective labour leadership. We have seen many labour leaders selling their workers down the river after the mills owners bought their loyalty by greasing their palms. Barring Z. A. Bhutto no other public leader worth his salt supported the cause of the labourers from the core of his heart.
Time was when the employers used to make their employees work for 15 hours a day without giving them a single penny as over time for the extra work done by them. Maternity leave for the women workers, medical treatment of the labourers injured while working on the machines and bonus money were the words unknown to the workers.
The labourer or manual worker in this country is the most underpaid person in this society. The daily wage which he gets is not sufficient to keep his body and soul together. Every politician in this country has, from time to time, led the labourers up the garden path by making with them promises which they had no intention to keep. It has been experienced that while there had always been a lot of glib talk at the hustings by the leaders of almost all the political parties of this country promising that they will turn around the living and working condition of the laborers in case they came to power, the fact of the matter is that the laborers were always let down by every ruling political party. The business tycoons dominate almost every political party in this country and they don’t allow the rulers to carry out any labor reform which is going to cost them more money.