The convention, titled ‘Reconnecting Cultural Freedoms and Labour Rights’, was held in Lahore on Friday and brought together labour activists, artists, journalists, writers and rights campaigners.
Moderated by rights campaigner Zeeshan Noel, the event opened with actor Khaled Anum performing verses by Mian Muhammad Bakhsh and Sachal Sarmast.
HRCP Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt said the preservation of democracy and human rights was dependent on a strong labour movement.
The first session, titled ‘Voices of Solidarity’, featured video messages from fisherfolk rights activist Talib Kachhi and visual artist Imran Ullah Hunzai, along with poetry by Nazeer Qaiser and Asghar Nadeem Syed.
Labour rights activist Boota Imtiaz Masih called for the formation of a union for sanitation workers, while Farooq Tariq of the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee stressed the importance of solidarity.
Actor Samiya Mumtaz discussed society’s treatment of artists and linked it to social hierarchies that have historically degraded manual labour.
During a panel moderated by rights campaigner Tanveer Jahan, historian Dr Ali Raza said contemporary ‘hyper-politics’ lacked the institutions and unions that had previously supported a progressive tradition.
Journalist Shahzada Zulfiqar highlighted low wages among media workers, while National Labour Federation General Secretary Umar Hayat spoke about the weakening of labour unions in Balochistan.
Screenwriter Bee Gul said satellite television had compelled writers to camouflage serious subjects within depoliticised storylines.
Journalist Wajahat Masood argued that workers and artists occupied a subversive space that posed a challenge to the state, while Ajoka Theatre’s Shahid Mahmood Nadeem called for a workers’ movement to accompany social drama.
HRCP Council member Salima Hashmi stressed the need for a strategy that would allow younger generations to find their own path.
The third session featured video messages from dancer Sheema Kermani, musician Haroon Bacha and veteran actors Mustafa Qureshi and Nadeem Baig. Actor and director Saba Hameed also expressed solidarity with the participants.
All Pakistan Workers Federation President Gohar Taj said Pakistan still lacked a functioning minimum wage system.
Writer Sharif Awan spoke about classical music, while visual artist Masooma Syed said artistic resistance often came at the cost of survival.
Actor Ayesha Toor highlighted the difficulties of speaking out for artistic freedom in a capitalist society, while HRCP Treasurer Husain Naqi said poets could provide inspiration during periods of despair.
Concluding the convention, HRCP Secretary-General Harris Khalique presented a charter endorsed by participants.
The charter stated that the right to work with dignity and the right to create freely were inseparable.
It called for a living wage, safe workplaces, social protection for all workers including those in the informal sector, the right to unionise and bargain collectively, equal rights and pay, and protection against discrimination and violence.
The charter also demanded recognition of cultural work as labour, workers’ participation in labour policy and equitable access to cultural platforms for working-class communities.
