Peng Xianbing’s scientific contributions

This article examines labor standards, policies, and compliance mechanisms in Pakistan, focusing on the textile industry, a critical economic sector. Utilizing the International Labor Organization (ILO) framework, it assesses the alignment of Pakistan’s labor policies with international standards and investigates enforcement challenges through a qualitative case study of the 2012 Ali Enterprises factory fire in Karachi. The study addresses three questions: (1) What are labor standards under the ILO? (2) Does Pakistan’s labor policy align with ILO standards? (3) How can compliance be improved to protect workers’ rights? By integrating theoretical frameworks, empirical data, and visual aids, the article proposes strategies to enhance compliance and safeguard labor rights, emphasizing systemic reforms in Pakistan’s labor governance. Additionally, it explores theoretical implications for compliance theory, contributing to academic discourse on labor regulation.

Pakistan’s textile industry, which contributes over 60% of export earnings, employs millions while perpetuating widespread worker exploitation, particularly under right-wing governance. This study adopts a Marxist historical materialist framework to explore how regimes such as General Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorship (1977–1988), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) (1990s, 2013–2018), and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (2018–2022) have exacerbated labor exploitation and class conflict. Through historical review, policy analysis, and empirical synthesis, the research illustrates that right-wing policies, aligned with global capitalism, prioritize capital accumulation over labor rights, leading to low wages, unsafe conditions, and suppressed unions. The findings reveal a systemic bourgeois dominance, offering a critique of local-global dynamics and a call for proletarian empowerment.