The New Year began with a series of meetings, rallies and demonstrations by trade unions across Pakistan in protest against the Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO) 2002. The Ordinance went against some of the core labour rights as set forth in the ILO Conventions and the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

In the past, Pakistan had announced four labour policies--- in 1955, 1959, 1969 and 1972. Since 1972, in spite of holding five Tripartite Labour Conferences and setting up three Labour Commissions and one Task Force, besides a number of Labour Standing Committees, a new Labour Policy which the trade unions and federations were demanding never came through.

The Federal Ministry of Labour under the late Omar Asghar Khan had made a bold attempt to revoke the flaws, discrepancies and deficiencies in the existing labour laws. It promised to announce a new Labour Policy aimed at protecting the interests of workers and at the same time ensuring a cordial relationship between workers and employers. A series of meetings and consultations were initiated between the representatives of the workers, employers and government, in which different aspects of the future shape of the entire spectrum of industrial relations and labour laws were discussed. The Pakistan Workers Confederations and Movement for Labour Rights(PILER) played the role of a catalyst in this process. These meetings and discussions resulted in the formation of the Workers, Employers Bilateral Council of Pakistan (WEBCOP). All the three stake holders B workers, employers and government B came to a broad agreement on some basic issues concerning industrial relations and labour welfare, after detailed consultations at tripartite and bilateral level, spread over a period of more than a year, culminating in the convening of the latest Tripartite Labour Conference in July 2001.

Pakistan has ratified 32 ILO conventions concerning working and employment conditions, freedom of association, collective bargaining, gender equality, forced labour etc. The Core Conventions ratified by Pakistan are:

• Convention 29.. Forced Labour
• Convention 87 .. Freedom of Association
• Convention 98 .. Collective Bargaining
• Convention 100 ..     Equal Remuneration
• Convention 105 .. Abolition of Forced Labour
• Convention 111 ..     Discrimination in Employment and Occupations
• Convention 182 .. Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour

In an effort to translate this consensus into concrete measures, WEBCOP had submitted to the Labour Ministry its unanimously adopted bilateral draft recommendations for a new IRO. The Labour Ministry had subsequently announced the outlines of a Labour Policy 2002, raising hopes that the long-awaited new Labour Policy would eventually see the light of the day.

On October 26, 2002, like a bolt from the blue came the IRO, which not only dashed the hopes of an improvement in the situation but also presented a very gloomy future for labour rights in Pakistan. The new IRO, in fact, sought to deprive the workers of a number of basic rights they had been ensured under the existing laws. It was all the more shocking because it was announced 15 days after the general elections by an outgoing lame-duck government and was contrary to the letter and spirit of the consensus reached in the tripartite conference. The Pakistan Workers Confederation which groups together nine major trade union federations of the country, after a series of public discussions and meetings among the trade union leadership and also with WEBCOP, came to the conclusion that the Ordinance needs to be opposed. As the months of November and December were a period of transition from the military government to the newly-elected civilian government, it was decided to stage a countrywide protest against the new law on  January 14, 2003. It may be noted here that even the employers` representative bodies, which had participated in the consultations in 2000-2001, have expressed their disapproval of the new IRO. WEBCOP has made a strong representation to the government in this regard reflecting the bilateral views.

The objections raised are based on the following points:

• The new IRO imposes additional curbs on the right of association and collective bargaining and the right to strike
• It further increases the number of establishments/institutions/sectors in which union formation is banned, thus depriving hundreds of thousands of workers of their basic rights, in violation of the ILO Conventions on Core Labour Rights, which the government has ratified, and the related provisions of the country`s Constitution
• It further debars workers from seeking legal remedy by way of interim relief from NIRC against anti-labour acts
• It empowers the labour courts to grant compensation of 12 to 30 months` pay in lieu of reinstatement, even if the worker`s services have been terminated wrongly and illegally. This will further increase the victimisation of workers
• It imposes new and uncalled for restrictions on union formation, registration, functioning and composition of union leadership 

The IRO is more discriminatory against the workers and in favour of the employers than the existing laws.  Tens of thousands of workers participated in the rallies and demonstrations on January 14, 2003.

(Source : Internet)