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SCHOOL OF LAW (University of

Karachi) Marks
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Assessment Cover Sheet for Submission of Assignments

STUDENT/S:

Name Seat/ Enrolment No.

1. Basmah Jawaid 29 Course title: English-2
2. Hasnain Gull 51 Course code: 403-C
3. Hina Chang 53 Class: 2nd year (3rd
4. Kulsoom 66 semester)
Assignment no: 02
Submission date: 8-7-2021
Word count: 1000
Due date: 8-7-2021
Name of course Sir Arif Anjum
instructor

PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION

CONSEQUENCES OF PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION

I declare that all material in this assessment is my own work except where there is clear
acknowledgement and reference to the work of others. I give permission for my assessment work to
be reproduced and submitted to other academic staff for the purposes of assessment and to be
copied, submitted to and retained by the University's plagiarism detection software provider for the
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Signed…Basmah Jawaid, Hasnain, Kulsoom, Hina Chang… Date…8-7 2021……

Teacher’s Feedback: For details, refer to the marking rubric. Additional Comments:
 Research paper topic - COVID-19 and Labour
Law: Pakistan

 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH PAPER

The Covid-19 epidemic has severely affected every aspect of life globally. It has not only turned
the world into a global hospital, but also impacted economic sector in general and world labour
in particular. People have lost their jobs, which were their sole source of livelihood. A report
shows that more than 25 million people lost their jobs following the lockdowns during the
coronavirus. Covid-19 crisis has pushed the economy of Pakistan in to worst ever situation,
whose impacts will be felt for the years. All the sectors as industry, agriculture, service, and
health sector remained at top, which had suffered extreme loss. The country stumbled upon
multiple challenges in its services sector. People did not have enough to have two times meal. A
private research organisation estimated that 9 to 15 million people fall below the poverty line due
to COVID-19 induced crisis. In this hard situation, the government of Pakistan took many steps
to curtail poverty. It had announced a relief package for named “Ehsas Emergency Program” to
support the vulnerable people in hard times and to reduce the effects of the pandemic. Through
EEP, the government granted R.s 12000 to about 2 million households. Moreover, on 24 March,
the Government of Pakistan announced a comprehensive economic relief Package of PKR 1.2
trillion to protect the most vulnerable consumer and business groups in the country which
amounted to over 2% of GDP. As a result, these relief packages have resulted in alleviating the
mounting crises posed to humans by coronavirus. The provincial labour departments, including
Islamabad, instructed employers not to fire their employees and must pay them 50 percent of
their pay in the days of lockdown. The government has also not overlooked the construction
sector. They also get some relief announced by the federal and provincial governments. The
Prime Minister of Pakistan, on 03 April 2020, announced that construction sector would be given
the status of an industry and incentives for investors and businessmen to mitigate the economic
impact of the coronavirus outbreak. This seems to be the noticeable step towards the
development of this sector as this sector contributes lion’s share in GDP as well as in
employment opportunities. Smart lockdown strategy of government also worked to mitigate the
loss. Only the affected areas were sealed and other remained open. Food, beverage and
pharmaceutical manufacturing firms were already allowed to work. During all provincial
lockdowns, Provincial Governments in all provinces have allowed export-oriented industries to
operate after following health and safety-related standard Operating procedures.
 RESPONSE ESSAY (REPORT) OF THE
RESEARCH PAPER
 This response essay comprises of introductory paragraphs,
three response paragraphs and a conclusion paragraph.
The outbreak of the novel Coronavirus-19 has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide
and has presented unprecedented challenges to health, education, economy, food systems and
other leading industries in the world. The economic and social disturbance caused by the
pandemic is devastating: thousands of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while
the number of undernourished and unemployed people is expected to rise in the Covid-19
induced times especially in a developing country like Pakistan. In a bid to smooth the rising
curve of the spread of pandemic COVID-19, the Federal Government had imposed lockdown
throughout the country which, I believe was a highly palpable step.
Pakistan, a country of 225 million people where 63.4 million are engaged in labour force while
services sector is the leading employer followed by agriculture (37%) and the industrial sector
(25%). Due to terminations and closures, a significant number of these nonchalantly and
sporadically paid laborers have lost their jobs. Nonetheless, I believe, considering the fast
approaching lockdowns and curfew-like situations, this might likewise not be conceivable.
Centre for Labour Research had estimates job-disruptions for around 21 million workers in the
country. The sectors which are confronting the most monetary danger includes, construction,
manufacturing, accommodation and food administrations, wholesale and retail exchange,
transport, and land and business exercises. Out of the 59.8 million employed labour forces,
Punjab (60%) has the highest share followed by Sindh (23%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (12%),
Balochistan (4%) and Islamabad (1.15%).
The author of the report explicitly mentions that the services sector was majorly targeted by the
covid-19 crises. The Labour Force Survey of 2018 indicates that 1.18 million workers are
engaged in the food and accommodation sector. Those working in the education sector are 2.5
million, while the transport and storage sector alone employs 3.5 million. However, the
agricultural sector was the least affected by Covid-19 and the food and manufacturing units and,
other pharmaceuticals were allowed by the government to work even in the pandemic. I, also,
believe that this was a step in the right direction because it had also minimized the destruction of
whole food supply chain which was witnessed later on when the virus blew-out further into rural
areas. Migrant agricultural workers are particularly vulnerable, because they face risks in their
transport, working and living conditions and struggle to access support measures put in place by
governments.
In consonance with other schemes launched by government in the phase of existential covid-19
crises, the government also announced a comprehensive economic relief package of PKR 1.2
trillion to protect the most vulnerable consumer and business groups in the country. The chief
reason of launching such a package was to provide relief to daily wage workers, financial
support to SMEs (Small and medium size enterprises), accelerated procurement of wheat,
financial support to utility stores, electricity bill payments relief and emergency contingency
funds etc. “Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program” was also a welcome initiative by the government.
The issuance by the provincial government of detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for
different sectors in commerce, industrial and delivery services resulted in curbing the spread of
this novel epidemic. Tripartite social dialogue, both at the federal and provincial level, had also
commenced to boost sustainability in various workplaces in the wake of COVID-19.
Having said that all, the author emphasises that protecting workers and their families should be
the first priority because of the dwindled economic activity. It is also suggested that the
government should start giving unemployment benefits (at least equivalent to a minimum wage
of 17,500 rupees per month) to the unemployed. More and more special contributory social
insurance schemes must sprung for self-employed, informal and agriculture sector workers.
Healthcare and unemployment benefits must be universally accessible. Some long-term
measures include: giving legal cover to teleworking and flexible work time arrangements,
ensuring access to decent work, enacting new legislation for microenterprises, and regulating the
gig-economy. Lastly, I also believe that the protection of labour rights in all industries will be
crucial in addressing the human dimension of the crisis and particular attention must be paid to
the situation of women, who are over-represented in low-paid jobs. In designing and
implementing measures like child allowances and healthy school meals, shelter and food relief
initiatives, and financial relief for businesses, including SMEs, therefore, close work and
cooperative collaboration of government with the public is needed the most in these times.