Thousands of workers gathered in Lahore for a rally organized by the Haqooq-e-Khalq Party, demanding higher wages, effective social security and the implementation of labour rights.
Salman Akram Raja and Asad Qaiser, along with other leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, joined the workers and spoke in support of their demands.
A central demand of the rally was an increase in the minimum wage to Rs70,000. Participants stressed that announcing wage increases without ensuring their implementation leaves workers without meaningful relief. They called for the minimum wage to be enforced across workplaces rather than remain limited to government notifications or promises.
Speakers also highlighted the need for stronger social security measures and greater protection for workers facing economic insecurity. Participants argued that workers should not be made to bear the costs of policies that, in their view, disproportionately benefit powerful economic interests.
The rally also featured international activists and professors involved in movements against imperialism across the Global South. Their addresses connected workers’ struggles in Pakistan with broader movements challenging economic inequality, exploitation and imperialist structures internationally.
For participants, the demands for higher wages and social protection were part of a wider struggle over economic justice and the distribution of wealth and power.
The rally ended with workers reiterating their demand for concrete enforcement of labour protections, arguing that rights must translate into material improvements in their lives rather than remain promises on paper.