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 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, and 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 GIZ’s sustainable development projects. It was mutually agreeable that both organisations would 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 marginalised populations, and ensuring the textile sector complies with the environment very seriously.

Both organisations agreed that Pakistan’s export base is primarily textiles, which employs many workers and contributes to the country’s foreign revenue. Therefore, emphasis should be on ensuring the acceptance of the international labour and environment standards, the ILO Better Work program and the core conditionalities prescribed by global brands.

EFP and GIZ also accepted that there is an imperative need to enhance productivity and efficiency, reduce wastage, reduce absenteeism, and reduce the effluence of negatively impacting the environment. The meeting also discussed the PowerPoint presentation explaining the initiatives undertaken by EFP, which the Secretary-General explained.