Preamble Whereas sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust; And whereas it is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order; Wherein the State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people; Wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed; Wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah; Wherein adequate provision shall be made for the minorities freely to profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures; Wherein the territories now included in or in accession with Pakistan and such other territories as may hereafter be included in or accede to Pakistan shall form a Federation wherein the units will be autonomous with such boundaries and limitations on their powers and authority as may be prescribed; Wherein shall be guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, of opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality; Wherein adequate provision shall be made to safeguard the legitimate interests of minorities and backward and depressed classes; Wherein the independence of the judiciary shall be fully secured; Wherein the integrity of the territories of the Federation, its independence and all its rights, including its sovereign rights on land, sea and air, shall be safeguarded; So that the people of Pakistan may prosper and attain their rightful and honored place amongst the nations of the World and make their full contribution towards international peace and progress and happiness of humanity; Now, therefore, we, the people of Pakistan; Conscious of our responsibility before Almighty Allah and men; Cognizant of the sacrifices made by the people in the cause of Pakistan; Faithful to the declaration made by the Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that Pakistan would be a democratic State based on Islamic principles of social justice; Dedicated to the preservation of democracy achieved by the unremitting struggle of the people against oppression and tyranny; Inspired by the resolve to protect our national and political unity and solidarity by creating an egalitarian society through a new order; Do hereby, through our representatives in the National Assembly, adopt, enact and give to ourselves, this Constitution.

Laws Regarding Recruitment and Selection

Section 11. Slavery, forced labor, etc., prohibited
(1) Slavery is non-existent and forbidden and no law shall permit or facilitate its introduction into Pakistan in any form.
(2) All forms of forced labor and traffic in human beings are prohibited.
(3) No child below the age of fourteen years shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment.
(4) Nothing in this Article shall be deemed to affect compulsory service−
(a) By any person undergoing punishment for an offence against any law; or
(b) Required by any law for public purpose:
Provided that no compulsory service shall be of a cruel nature or incompatible with human dignity.
Section 25. Equality of citizens
(1) All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.
(2) There shall be no discrimination on the basis of gender.
(3) Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.

Section 27. Safeguard against discrimination in services
No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth

Section 28. Preservation of language, script and culture. Subject to Article 251 any section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture shall have the right to preserve and promote the same and subject to law, establish institutions for that purpose.

Section 32. Special representation Special representation shall be given to women in local government institutions (i.e., local bodies)
Section 33. Parochial and other similar prejudices to be discouraged
The State shall discourage parochial, racial, tribal sectarian and provincial prejudices among the citizens.
Section 38. Promotion of social and economic well-being of the people. (a) secure the well-being of the people, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race, by raising their standard of living, by preventing the concentration of wealth and means of production and distribution in the hands of a few to the detriment of general interest and by ensuring equitable adjustment of rights between employers and employees, and landlords and tenants;
Work Permits
To enter Pakistan, for any kind of reason, you need to provide the following documents in order to get a visa: * Dully filled Visa form. * Original Passport (valid for at least six months) along with its photocopy. * Two recent passport size photographs (with white background). * Any other document(s) that can be helpful in obtaining a visa.
For any kind of visa requirement, these are the documents you need. Concerning business visa, the Pakistan’s Government has worked up a Friendly List (BVL) of 69 Countries, including United Kingdom: that means, the businessmen from these Countries will receive a Visa on Arrival (VOA) for 30 days validity on stay. In order to profit by this special term, businessmen arriving in
Pakistan need to provide: * Recommendation letter from CC&I of the respective country of the foreigner. * Invitation letter from Business organization duly recommended by the concerned Trade Organization/Association in Pakistan. * Recommendatory letter by Honorary Investment Counsellor of BOI / Commercial Attach posted at Missions abroad.
Engagement and Dismissal (Ordinance that was enacted in 1968)
If your company counts more than 20 workers, you have to submit to the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance that was enacted in 1968 to address the relationship between employer and employee and the contract of employment. The Ordinance applies to all industrial and commercial establishments throughout the country. Every employer in an industrial or commercial establishment is required to issue a formal appointment letter at the time of employment of each worker. The labor contract has specific compulsory contents, basically: the main terms and conditions of employment, namely nature and tenure of appointment, pay allowances and other fringe benefits admissible, terms and conditions of appointment. For the termination of a contract there’re specific rules.
In the case of workers in other establishments, domestic servants, farm workers or casual labor engaged by contractors, their labor contracts are generally unwritten and can be enforced through the courts on the basis of oral evidence or past practice. Regarding lawful profession or occupations and lawful trade or business, the article 18 of the Constitution allowed every citizen the right to enter in this sort of occupations.
Usually no permanent jobs don’t require any notice or pay in lieu of notice when they are dismissed. For permanent workers that’s not possible. The services cannot be terminated for any reason other than misconduct unless one month’s notice or wages in lieu thereof has been furnished by the employer or by the worker if he or she so chooses to leave his or her service. One month ‘swages are calculated on the basis of the average wage earned during the last three months of service. All terminations of service in any form must be documented in writing stating the reasons for such an act.
If a worker is aggrieved by an order of termination he or she may proceed under Section 46 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance2002, aimed at regulating the labor-management relations in the country, and bring his or her grievance to the attention of his or her employer, in writing, either him or herself, through the shop steward or through his or her trade union within three months of the occurrence of the cause of action. Forms of termination have been described as removed, retrenched, discharged or dismissed from service.
To safeguard against any colorful exercise of power, victimization or unfair labor practices, the Labor Courts have been given powers to examine and intervene to find out whether there has been a violation of the principles of natural justice and whether any action by the employer was bona-fide or unjust.
Employee’s social security ordinance, 1965.
An Employees Social Security scheme was introduced in Pakistan under the provisions of the Provincial Employees Social Security Ordinance, 1965. The main objective is to provide comprehensive medical cover to the secured workers and their family members including parents and to provide financial assistance in case of sickness and employment injuries. The Social Security scheme is implemented on the basis of the contributory principle. The main source of income is the Social Security Contribution, which is collected under Section 70 of the Ordinance from the employers of the notified industrial and commercial establishment at a rate of 7% of the wages paid to their workers who are drawing wages up to Rs. 5,000/- p.m. or Rs. 200/- per day. The workers once covered under this scheme remain secured even if their wages exceed Rs. 5,000/- per month.

Young Persons
20. Workers between the ages of 14 and less than 18 years will not be engaged in hazardous working conditions and other working environments that adversely affect their physical and moral development. They will also be provided greater access to education and training, particularly training, tailored to identify labor market needs.
21. Children and young persons will be withdrawn and prevented from hazardous nature as, for example, mining, tanneries, brick kilns, construction, and glass bangles etc. Special programs will be designed to focus young domestic workers employed in private households. Payment of minimum wage will also be ensured to the young persons.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT
42. The main elements of Human Resource Development and Employment strategy are outlined below:
i) In the absence of determined measures to bring down the rate of population increase efforts to enhance employment generation are expected to produce limited success. ii) Given the need to create 1.25 million man years of additional employment annually and recent declining employment elasticity, the growth rate of the economy need to center around a minimum of 8.3percent per annum. iii) Primary emphasis will be on employment generation in rural areas and surrounding small towns through development of physical and social infrastructure and rural industries. iv) Special measures will be taken to reduce unemployment among the educated not through unproductive public sector employment in administrative jobs but to meet real needs of the economy especially in the social sectors and private sector employment.
v) Effort will be made to accelerate development, increase productivity of small scale/informal sector enterprises and to generate 13employment in less developed regions to remove regional disparity. vi) Self-reliance and austerity will be taken as cardinal planks of the entire policy package. vii) A concerted effort will be made to radically improve the participation of females in income generating economic activities. viii) Well trained skilled labor force will be developed to help achieve significant gains in productivity and efficiency primarily through the efforts of the private sector. ix) Full support will be provided to Pakistanis seeking employment opportunities abroad and assistance in productive re-absorption of returning migrants.
x) Opportunities for self-employment will be incurred for those with education, skills and entrepreneurship especially through better access to credit facilities.
Employment
43. The most challenging issue facing Pakistan today is the high rate of growth of population and labor force growing at over 3 percent per annum, amongst the highest in the world. Its population has a literacy rate of less than 60percent. It possesses an insignificant base for the production of high level scientific and middle level technical manpower, and the quality of education has seriously deteriorated in recent years. The main objectives of the country’s Labor Policy shall be to meet the requirements of the economy, the employers and the working classes.
44. In formulating a strategy to respond to these challenges the following key factors are taken into account:- i) During the past decade with an expected growth rate of the labor force of 3.3 percent per annum, the economy is faced with the formidable task of creating 1.25 million jobs annually, if the unemployment and under-employment situation is not to worsen. ii) The problem of the educated unemployed youth is serious thus requires special programs. iii) Educational level and skill training of the industrial work force remains very low. iv) Women are Pakistan’s least utilized human resource. Woman labor force participation depicts a gloomy picture.
v) The scientific manpower base in Pakistan lacks strategic depth in meeting contemporary needs of the country. Only 20 percent of the relevant age groups pass matriculation and only a quarter of these students pursue further studies in science. vi) Labor Market Information is presently not collected in a consistent and systematic manner. vii) The global financial crisis has aggravated Pakistan’s economic difficulties
Termination of Employment
Employee termination can be difficult. Pakistani laws establish procedures for terminating employees, although unions-especially in the public sector-can resist lay-offs. Either the employer or the employee may terminate employment upon serving one month of notice or (for an employer) granting one month of salary. Hourly paid workers who are retrenched must be given either two weeks ‘notice or two weeks' wages.
Reference:
Constitution Of Pakistan http://www.eobi.gov.pk/ The Employers’ & Labor Bureau.
Rai Khizar Hayat (Lawyer)