960412

LCCI employees right to CBA

Registrar files

comments before LHC

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry is itself an industry, therefore the right of its employees to form a Collective Bargaining Agent could not be ruled out.

These views were expressed by Registrar of the Trade Unions Lahore region, in a reply and parawise comments filed before the Lahore High Court through which the legality of the CBA at LCCI was challenged.

The petition had been filed by Secretary LCCI in which the Registrar Joint Stock Companies and LCCI Employees Union had been termed as respondents, and cancellation of the registration of Trade Union was sought by secretary LCCI asserting that LCCI did not qualify to be an industry under the Industrial Relation Ordinance 1969.

It was submitted by the Registrar that the LCCI Employees Union applied for registration which was allowed on February 8, 1972. The petitioner LCCI never raised any objection regarding the registration of the union at any stage except for the first time on May 12, 1995, when a reference was received from the petitioner objecting the legality of formation of union. The objection was examined, and thus rejected being baseless by the Registrar.

It was prayed that the registration of the LCCI Employees Union may be declared lawful because it qualifies to be registered as a union. It was further prayed that the directions may not be passed against the LCCI trade union for proceedings under section 10 of the Industrial Relation Ordinance, 1969.

It was also prayed that pending disposal of this petition any order regarding the CBA certificate may not be passed as no CBA certificate was ever issued to the LCCI trade union because it never applied for the same.