Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

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

The Committee notes the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a communication dated 29 August 2008, which concern matters raised in the Committee’s previous observation and contain allegations of violations of collective bargaining rights, weak labour law enforcement by the Government, and cases of anti-union discrimination and interference. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations thereon, as well as on the comments sent by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU, now ITUC) on 12 July 2006, also referring to examples of violations of the Convention in law and in practice.

The Committee notes the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Cases Nos 2229 (see 349th Report) and 2399 (see 344th and 350th Reports), dealing with similar issues.

The Committee recalls that the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, after noting the long-standing nature and the seriousness of the discrepancies between the Convention and national law, had requested the Government, in June 2006, to send a detailed report containing full information on all issues raised, as well as draft texts concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received.

The Committee recalls that it had previously noted the discussion in the Conference Committee, which took place in June 2006, in which the Government’s representative stated that the Government was working towards resolving these outstanding problems in the near future, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations.

The Committee recalls that its previous observations concerned the need to amend the Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO) 2002. The Committee notes that the Industrial Relations Act, amending the IRO 2002, was adopted in November 2008 and that it will be an interim law, which will lapse on 30 April 2010. During this period, a tripartite conference will be held to draft new legislation in consultation with all stakeholders. The Committee expresses the hope that the new legislation will take into account its previous comments with regard to the IRO 2002.

Scope of application of the Convention. (a) Denial of the rights guaranteed by the Convention in export processing zones (EPZs). The Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that EPZ Employment Relations Rules had been prepared in response to the concerns raised regarding the denial of labour rights in this sector and that these draft rules had been sent to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights for review and would be provided to the Committee once the process was completed. Hoping that, in the very near future, the new rules will provide EPZ workers with all the rights and guarantees enshrined in the Convention, the Committee once again requests the Government to send a copy of these rules as soon as they are adopted.

(b) Denial of the rights guaranteed by the Convention to other categories of worker. The Committee expresses the hope that the new legislation will guarantee the right to organize of the following categories of worker employed in the following establishments or industries:

–           Workers employed in installations or services exclusively connected with the armed forces of Pakistan, including the Ministry of Defence railway lines; the manufacturing establishment of the armed forces; the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation or the Security Papers Limited or Pakistan Mint; establishments or institutions maintained for the treatment or care of sick, infirm, destitute and mentally unfit persons excluding those run on a commercial basis; institutions established for payment of employees’ old-age pensions or for workers’ welfare; members of the watch and ward, security or fire service staff of an oil refinery or of an establishment engaged in the production, transmission or distribution of natural gas or liquefied petroleum products or of a seaport or an airport, persons who are employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity, as well as workers of charitable organizations;

–           workers in Pakistan International Airlines (PIAC);

–           workers in the agricultural sector;

–           workers employed in the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC).

The Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that after promulgation of the IRO 2002, the KESC workers were entitled to the right of association. However, following an application filed by the Trade Union of the KESC, the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) had issued an order to the effect that the IRO was not applicable to the KESC. The Trade Union of the KESC had appealed to the bench of the NIRC and, according to the Government, the ban on KESC trade union activities had been lifted. The NIRC had further considered a dispute regarding registration of a labour union in the KESC and had ordered that a referendum be held to prepare for the determination of a collective bargaining agent. Following the referendum, labour unions should have been fully restored in the KESC. The Committee requests the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the KESC workers and the trade union existing in the enterprise enjoy the rights afforded by the Convention in practice and once again requests the Government to indicate the situation including the decision taken by the NIRC on the registration of a labour union and on the determination of a collective bargaining agent.

Article 1 of the Convention. (a) Sanctions for trade union activities. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s statement that measures to review and ultimately reform section 27-B of the Banking Companies Ordinance of 1962 – according to which imprisonment and/or fines were imposed in cases which include the use of bank resources (such as telephones) or of carrying on trade union activities during office hours, pressure tactics, etc. – were under way. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will repeal these restrictions in the near future and requests the Government to indicate any developments in this respect.

(b) Lack of sufficient legislative protection for workers dismissed for their trade union membership or activities. The Committee had previously noted the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions’ (APFTU) statement, according to which the newly-imposed section 2-A of the Service Tribunals Act had debarred workers engaged in autonomous bodies and corporations such as the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), railway, telecommunication, gas, banks, the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supply Corporation (PASSCO), etc., from seeking redress for their grievances from the labour courts, labour appellate tribunals and the NIRC in the case of unfair labour practices committed by the employer. In this respect, the Committee had noted the Government’s statement at the Conference Committee in June 2006 that measures to review and ultimately reform section 2-A of the Services Tribunal Act were under way. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to reform section 2-A of the Services Tribunal Act and to ensure that appropriate means of redress are available to the workers concerned.

Article 2. Protection against acts of interference. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that workers and employers enjoy adequate protection against any act of interference by each other or each other’s agents or members in their establishment. According to the Government, this principle had been applied by means of legislation under which the field formation of the Directorate of Labour Welfare and the Minimum Wages Board had been established, and the workers authorized to form a trade union and determine a collective bargaining agent for executing agreements between the employers and the workers. The Committee once again requests the Government to state in its next report the specific provisions of the legislation which prohibit and penalize acts of interference by organizations of workers and employers (or their agents) in each other’s affairs.

Article 4. Collective bargaining. With reference to the new Industrial Relations legislation to be adopted, the Committee expects that it will be in full conformity with Article 4 of the Convention and in particular that it will ensure that:

–      if there is no union representing the required percentage to be designated as a collective bargaining agent, collective bargaining rights are not denied to the existing unions, at least on behalf of their own members;

–      the three-year time span, within which no application for determination of the collective bargaining agent at the same establishment may be made once a registered trade union has been certified as the collective bargaining agent, is reduced to a more reasonable period or that the challenge of the most representative organization could take place in advance of the expiration of the applicable collective agreement;

–      the choice of collective bargaining unit may only be made by the partners themselves, since they are in the best position to decide the most appropriate bargaining level.

The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the new legislation once it has been adopted.