 Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem and As-Salaamu Alaykum ladies and gentlemen, we are basically continuing with our module on good corporate governance and the last time we were looking at the obligations to the shareholder, the primary stakeholder and now we are going to go on to the next important stakeholder and that is the obligations to the employees, the very backbone of any organization. Now ladies and gentlemen, when we are talking about employees then we have to understand that the whole organization is basically hinged upon its employees, their well-being and also the fact to create an enabling and conducive environment so that the employees can have high performance, high productivity, high morale and high results and perform according to expectations. Now ladies and gentlemen, one of the most important aspects in the obligations is fair employment practices by providing equal excess and fair treatment to all employees on the basis of merit. Now this is extremely important ladies and gentlemen because if we do not do employment based upon merit and transparency and established frameworks then what is going to happen is that it will create an environment of depotism, of favoritism, of despondency, of corruption. Why? Because we are selecting employees not based upon merit or some framework or some established job specifications or based upon the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies of the individual but based upon a relationship. This is a loose-lose situation actually in the short term and the long run. Therefore for the longevity of any organization and to ensure that an organization remains as a high performing organization, this is a very very important perspective and aspect of engaging employees through fair employment practices which cannot be compromised at any time and then it has to be based upon free equal access also that it cannot be like this that some organization is hiring people without informing anyone so people are not even informed and therefore the only person who is informed is the one who gets recruited. So it actually is the responsibility of the human resource department of any good organization that they have to disseminate the position not only once but multiple times and ensure that it has a widespread audience. So the maximum number of appropriate people are applying for that position and then if they get employed or when they get employed then it's equally important that they have fair treatment to all employees. It cannot be that someone is given preference while the other person is given excessive workload, is not given holidays, is not given benefits while someone who is well connected is given all of the benefits and is also treated as a special child of the organization that would be against not only good governance that would be against morality in its very essence and it's very core also. So this thing is extremely important that while an organization is engaging with the employees and the employees are engaging with the organization that they should be freedom of association, there should be privacy of the employee, you just cannot and we also had also done a case study in which excessive surveillance can be detrimental not only to the employee but also to the organization. So we have to basically safeguard their privacy also. There has to be the recognition of the right to engage in collective bargaining that means that there can be labor unions so that their rights are not infringed or encroached upon by the organization. There has to be a prohibition of forced compulsory and child labor. Now what that basically means is that you cannot force an employee to work during a stipulated holiday. It has to be by preference. It has to be based upon their own their own perspective of wanting to work on a holiday and then there should be no child labor at all because that is condemned around the world and also those laws that pertain to the elimination of any employment discrimination. So whatever is done, it has to be done according to rules, regulations, laws and frameworks. And in a country like Pakistan, we have 149 labor laws and and the court of labor laws this thick, I mean, it's a 3,700 page plus document. Now, even to understand that itself is a huge challenge. But that's the way how the rights of employees have been given protection by the law of the land and also internationally by the international labor organization, which tends to oversee how different countries are promulgating and implementing the different labor laws. So it's the obligation of a company that they also have to ensure adherence to those laws and also protect their employees so that they cannot be manipulated, exploited or discriminated upon. That is extremely important. Equal opportunities to handle for the employer equal opportunities for employment, irrespective of race, caste, religion, color, ancestry, marital status, sex, age, nationality, disability and veteran status. So right now in Pakistan, we have a reserved quota for the physically challenged. And that is extremely important that you cannot exclude different people that you have to have a diverse organization. You have to ensure that there is also gender inclusion. So again, by law, the female gender has reserved seats in organizations. So that is also very important that the law is being followed. And now there is there is there is a draft law that even transgender should be employed by organizations because all three genders are equal. And therefore, we cannot exclude people from employment. So this is very important that they should be equal opportunities. And the employer must ensure that the race, caste, religion, color, ancestry, marital status, sex, age, nationality, any ability or disability and veteran status is not a bar or is not a consideration for employment. So that is also very important in in the rights and obligations of the employee. Now, again, employees should be treated with dignity, with respect and in accordance with the policies which are stipulated. All matters should be given equal opportunity and also decisions should be married based. So again, the human resource department of any organization has these huge responsibilities to ensure that they do not tend to intimidate, manipulate, discriminate or do something which is illegal or unlawful. And that is the very essence of human resource in a good organization. Now, ladies in general, it's also very important that we encourage whistleblowing, proactive dealing with the whistleblowers and to make sure employees have comfortable reporting channels, awareness of and to appropriately deal with a concern before an illegal act has been committed. And more so the fact that if reporting is delayed, the company's reputation can be seriously harmed and it can face a risk of prosecution with all its disastrous consequences. So, ladies and gentlemen, what we are seeing is that whistleblowing and that basically means that if I am an employee of some organization, then I must blow the whistle. That means I must raise my voice. I must communicate to the concerned authorities within the organization or outside the organization if something illegal or wrong is happening in the organization. Now, one small instance sometimes can be overlooked, but if it is becoming repetitive and again it has it has many disastrous or larger consequences, then it is the responsibility of the person concerned to blow the whistle and to ensure that the organization is protected. Now, that is extremely important. Now, sometimes what happens is, is just like a case study that we had conducted earlier is that when the person blew the whistle, then he basically had to face the consequences. So, there is always that, but the law basically protects that. Now, even in Pakistan, in the National Accountability Bureau ordinance, whistleblowing is actually mandatory upon employees and then protection of the whistleblower is also mandatory by the government. Now, what actually happens? Well, that would depend upon the situation and from circumstance to circumstance. But yes, whistleblowing is important. And secondly, whistleblowers must be protected. So, again, when we're talking about all of this, it becomes extremely important that we do not overlook or we do not tend to disengage when things are going wrong. It is our responsibility as employees that we make sure that everything is done judiciously, honesty, and also with integrity within an organization. And it is the organization's responsibility that if I blow the whistle, then I must be given appropriate protection and I must not be penalized for it. I must not be sidelined for it and I must not be punished for it. And therefore, this is a very, very important aspect of employee obligations from the company and also the employee responsibility to the company. Thank you so much.