Event

Baldia Factory Fire, 2012: Lessons for Labour Rights Struggles

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 13:00to14:30
Chancellor Day Hall Stephen Scott Seminar Room (OCDH 16), 3644 rue Peel, Montreal, QC, H3A 1W9, CA

The 2012 Baldia Factory Fire in Pakistan led to the deaths of 255 workers. National and international struggles and litigation ensued. What has been learned? What progress has been made?

Join us for a talk with Faisal Siddiqi, esq., O'Brien Fellow in Residence at the Faculty of Law of McGill University. His respondents will be Dr. Zobaida Khan and Me Danny Kaufer, Ad. E.

Organized by the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, the O’Brien Fellows in Residence Program, and the Labour Law and Development Research Laboratory.

A light lunch will be served.  RSVP to human.rights [at] mcgill.ca by October 21.

Faisal Siddiqi:  Human Rights Litigator in Pakistan; McGill O’Brien Fellow in Residence, Fall 2016

Mr. Siddiqi completed a B.Sc in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in Law and MA from the University of Cambridge.  Mr. Siddiqi is a practicing lawyer of the High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is a former Advisor/Consultant to the Attorney General for Pakistan. He is also a Board Member of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Karachi, and is a Founding Trustee of the Legal Aid Foundation for Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault. He has a varied general litigation practice in constitutional, civil and criminal law and specializes in pro-bono human rights litigation. His well-known human rights cases include the Baldia Factory fire case and numerous cases representing victims of rape and gang rape, cases involving maladministration and lack of governance, cases involving the right to electricity and education, among others.

Zobaida Khan:  McGill DCL graduate, Fall 2016; Specialist on the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh in 2013

Ms. Khan’s research interest lies at the intersection of international trade, sustainable development and labour governance. With a special focus on the transnational safety initiatives taken for ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh, her research explores the relationship between global trade and economic governance and transnational labour development.  In September 2016, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis, “Trade, Labour and Sustainable Development: an Integrated Perspective” which was written under the supervision of Professor Adelle Blackett.

Danny Kaufer:  Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP; Specialist in Labour and Employment Law

Mr. Kaufer focuses his practice on labour and employment law. He is widely recognized for his expertise in negotiation and arbitration and has been involved in many high-profile certification matters. He represents employers before federal and provincial authorities as well as before various arbitration boards across Canada.  Mr. Kaufer has spoken extensively at events hosted by the American Bar Association's Labour and Employment Section, more specifically its International Labor and Employment Committee, of which he is immediate past Management Chair.  He is also a member of the Planning Committee for the Section's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Committee of the American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law section and a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

 

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