Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1952)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its reports and the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions Pakistan Council (ICFTU-PC).

The Committee's previous comments referred to discrepancies between national legislation and the Convention on the following points:

-- Denial of free collective bargaining in the public banking and financial sectors (sections 38A to 38I of the Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO), 1969).

-- Denial of the rights guaranteed by Articles 1 (protection against anti-union discrimination), 2 (protection against acts of interference), and 4 (right to bargain collectively) of the Convention for workers in export processing zones (section 25 of the Export Processing Zones Authority Ordinance 1980).

-- Lack of sufficient legislative protection for workers dismissed for their trade union membership or activities (the judgement of the Supreme Court of 11 August 1994 restricts the right to judicial recourse in case of dismissal when it is not connected with an industrial dispute thus impeding the possibility of reinstatement provided for under section 25-A of the IRO).

The Committee notes that in its report, the Government merely confines itself to repeating information it had already provided the previous year on the above points. The Committee notes however that in its subsequent report, the Government indicates that all labour laws are currently being reviewed and that in this respect, due consideration will be given to the Committee's previous observations concerning this Convention. The Government points out none the less that amending labour legislation is a time-consuming exercise involving wide-ranging consultations with the social partners.

The Committee would once again remind the Government that the above discrepancies between national legislation and the Convention, which the Committee has commented on in detail for several years, constitute serious violations of the Convention which was ratified in 1952. The Committee therefore would once again request the Government to ensure that the necessary amendments are made to the labour legislation in the very near future so as to bring the latter into conformity with the requirements of the Convention. In preparing such amendments the Committee would strongly encourage the Government to take into consideration the recommendations of the direct contacts mission which took place in January 1994, as well as those of the tripartite Task Force on Labour which drafted its report in July 1994. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the progress made on this in its next report.