The Pakistan Workers Confederation (PWC) on Friday appealed to the government to get the pending bill on industrial relations passed by the National Assembly and the Senate to protect and define the fundamental rights of freedom of association of the union guaranteed under Article 17-A of the Constitutional, prior to the expiry of Industrial Relations Ordinance 2011 on 17th March, 2012.
The members of the PWC said in case the legislators failed to make the said legislation within the time which allowed the workers to form trade unions and federations to promote their unity, it would be termed an anti-labour act. This demand was made through a resolution in a seminar on ‘IRO-2011-Law for Workers’ held at the auditorium of Wapda Staff College, H-8/1, under the aegis of Pakistan Workers’ Confederation (PWC), Punjab Chapter, presided over by IA Rehman, secretary general, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
IA Rehman, while addressing the meeting, said the government had undertaken an international obligation by ratifying ILO Core Convention Nos 87 & 98 to bring its laws and practice in conformity with the principles of the said conventions. Khurshid Ahmad, general secretary of the confederation, speaking on the occasion, condemned the policies of the government, giving rise to price hike, raising serious gas and electricity load shedding, rendering millions of workers jobless and allowing the rich to be richer and the poor to be poorer. The meeting was addressed by Muhammad Akbar of Muttahida Labour Federation, Altaf Baloch of MLF, Niaz Ahmad, general secretary, National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Ch Khushi Muhammad Khokhar, general secretary, PWC, Punjab chapter, Syed Salahuddin Ayubi, general secretary, All Pakistan PWD Workers Union, Osama Tariq, general secretary, Pakistan Workers Federation Punjab, Yousuf Baloch, NTUF chairman, Iftikhar Ahmad, president, UBL Employees Union, Zafar Ullah Khan Niazi, M Akram Bunda, Haji Ramzan Achakzai, Abdul Latif Nizamani, Gohar Taj, Mian Reman Ghani, Sajjad Gerdezi, additional general secretary, Pakistan Textile Workers Federation, Shazia Sultan and Omar Asghar Khan.
Through a resolution, the house urged the government to take steps to improve the economic conditions of the poor otherwise the economic and social deprivations would result in unrest in the society.
