950825

Cabinet body report

Govt asked to

remove hurdles

in way of trade

unionism

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Cabinet Committee on Labour has recommended that the government restate its policy towards trade unionism in line with International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98 and redeem its pledge to remove all irritants, created during the martial law regime, for the growth of healthy trade union movement in Pakistan.

The recommendation forms part of the comprehensive report made by the committee, headed by the Federal Labour and Industries Minister Brigadier (retired) Muhammad Asghar, after review and examination of the report and recommendations of the Task Force on Labour which was formed by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto soon after coming into power for the second term with Aziz Memon MNA as its Chairman.

According to information available to Business Recorder in Lahore on Thursday from well-informed sources, the Task Force has recommended that the labour laws, including the Industrial Relations Ordinance 1969, should be uniformly be applied to all organizations including Export Processing Zones and Special Industrial Zones without any discrimination, except the armed forces, police and employments in the administration of the State.

The Task Force also recommended that trade union rights of employees of Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, Security Papers Limited and Ministry of Defence Railway Lines should be restored.

After thoroughly examining this recommendation, the committee has recommended that the federal government may restate its policy towards trade unionism in line with ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and redeem its pledge to remove all irritants, created during the martial law regime, for the growth of healthy trade union movement.

The committee has also recommended that labour laws may be uniformly applied to Export Processing Zones and Special Industrial Zones with the assurance that there should be one window operation for these zones for the purpose of collecting various cesses under different labour laws.

The sources pointed out that application of the Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Act 1952 has always been the subject of criticism by workers and other quarters.

The Cabinet Committee agreed to the recommendations of the Task Force that the application of this law be restricted to the employment or class of employments essential for securing the defence or security of Pakistan or for the maintenance of supplies and services essential for the life of the community and the government in that connection may restate its policy clarifying that the Government, as a last resort invoke the provision of this law only to meet exigencies in the national interest but by and large should avoid its application.