🚨 Are we truly celebrating Labour Day — or just pretending to? 💭 This Labour Day, I decided to reflect not just on the history — but on the harsh realities that many tech professionals, especially in Pakistan 🇵🇰, still face.

Hamza Bilal — Thu, 01 May 2025 13:41:57 +0000

Hamza Bilal

May 1 '25

Does Labour Day Really Exists?

#career #productivity #programming #devplusplus

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5 min read

Does Labour Day Really Exists?

Hamza Bilal — Thu, 01 May 2025 13:29:34 +0000

Have you ever wondered that why we celebrate the Labour Day? Is it just another day, or are we simply jumping on the bandwagon?

So, the history of Labour Day dates back to the late 19th century. On May 1st, 1886, around 400,000 workers organized a strike in Chicago, USA 🇺🇸 to demand an eight-hour workday. Eventually, the strike turned violent, and many unarmed workers were killed by the police.

I’m not going to dig deep into the history of this day — I’m not a history teacher. If you're curious, you can learn more about it here.

So, before moving forward, I’d like to condole with my colleagues who are still working today 🤣🤣🤣 — because their employers apparently lack the conscience to let them enjoy this day too 👹👹👹.

And to the organizations proudly celebrating the "Wonderful Labour Day":
Are you really following the checklist?

"Yeah, yeah — just like you do when you're micromanaging your team.
Don't worry, I'll provide the checklist. 🤠"

Fair Wage

No doubt, developers working in Pakistan 🇵🇰 are not paid fairly compared to those in Western countries — even after serving 12-hour or sometimes even 24-hour shifts. There’s a huge income disparity in our country, where the rich live in a VR universe 🚀 while the skilled ones are barely making ends meet 🩸.

In the early phase of my career, I started with just 10K PKR. Can you imagine that? 🤣 After completing a 4-year bachelor’s degree — and that too in 2019 — all I got was mere peanuts 🤣🥜.

So, dear tech organizations, have you set a fair basic pay for your production department yet? Or is 50K PKR still considered a “competitive salary” in today’s era of inflation?

Attire Autonomy

Even in 2025, most tech organizations in our country 🇵🇰 still believe in enforcing a traditional corporate dress code. And if you dare to wear something comfortable like jeans 👖, summer shirts 👕, or sandals 🩴 — a terminator bot 🤖 gets activated.

Yeah, that’s real — and no, it’s not a joke! The HR manager will send you a warning email for this “freedom of choice” act, or worse, you might get terminated.

Back in early 2024, I joined a big-wig organization with high hopes 🕊️ — and guess what I wore on my first day? Black biker jeans and a loose green shirt. To which my manager remarked:
“Oh, you can’t wear this kind of thing because sometimes, the CEO visits the floor, and we have female staff working here.”

Seriously? For a second, I thought I was wearing a bikini 👙. Also — why the f*** 😡 would a CEO visit the floor unless there’s some special protocol?

Anyway! Dear tech organizations, are you ensuring full autonomy for employees to wear comfortable clothing in the workplace? Or are they still suffocating in those rigid outfits during this hot and humid weather? 🥵🌡️

Competitive Rewards

Most of us have heard those deceptive speeches from our bosses, like:
"This month, our team has to put in more effort to complete this project — and after that, the whole team will get a 30%–40% raise."
Or:
"We have to get out of our comfort zones to achieve our goals."

Blah, blah, blah... and what happens after that? We all know too well.

Even after giving 100%, staying late after office hours, coming in early the next day, neglecting your physical and mental health, and working weekends or public holidays — do we get any incentive?

Nothing. Exactly — we get nothing for this bullshit.

These speeches are just too good to be true. Don’t ever believe them.

So, dear tech organizations — are you rewarding your employees fairly? Or are you letting them fall into the abyss of a fool’s paradise by giving them only a 3% or 5% raise?

Work-Life Balance

Last but not least — the most important part of this checklist.

In Pakistan 🇵🇰, especially in software development teams, most of us have faced situations where managers force late sittings just to satisfy their fragile competitive egos — at the cost of the team’s well-being.

Due to this toxic practice, many young professionals are becoming increasingly vulnerable to mental and heart-related illnesses — most of which go unaddressed. This is where the HR department should play a crucial role in maintaining work-life balance. But here in 🇵🇰, HR often seems absent when it really matters. Yet somehow, they’re laser-focused on check-ins and check-outs.

A few months back, I worked with a female project manager on a specific project. I was hired only as a support developer, not on a full-time basis. Unfortunately, she was extremely rude, toxic, and dismissive toward her team. On nearly every call, she would make dehumanizing remarks like:
"You should have done that by staying up all night."
And I would think to myself, even machines need maintenance — and we’re human, too! 🧟‍♂️

Now, I know some might label me a misogynist for this — but honestly, my experience with female project managers in this country 🇵🇰 has been consistently negative. I'm not generalizing globally, but my personal experiences haven't gone well.

Most recently, a tragic case in Karachi made headlines — where an employee allegedly stabbed 🔪 the CEO of a private software company to death over unpaid salary disputes. The company reportedly hadn’t paid him for three months.

People were quick to say:
"He did the wrong thing. He shouldn't have done that."
"He killed an innocent man."
Blah, blah... But did anyone pause to empathize with the employee? Did we try to put ourselves in his shoes? What kind of psychological stress was he dealing with — living with an empty bank account in today’s economy?

Let’s be honest. There’s no life without money. 💵💵💵
And no, that’s not being radical — that’s being real.

So, dear tech organizations — do you have a competent HR team that actually promotes a healthy work-life culture, or are you just turning your employees into burnout zombies?

Forem: Hamza Bilal

🚨 Are we truly celebrating Labour Day — or just pretending to? 💭 This Labour Day, I decided to reflect not just on the history — but on the harsh realities that many tech professionals, especially in Pakistan 🇵🇰, still face.

Does Labour Day Really Exists?

Do Read It....

Does Labour Day Really Exists?

Does Labour Day Really Exists?

Fair Wage

Attire Autonomy

Competitive Rewards

Work-Life Balance