Definitive Report - Report No 82, 1965

Case No 416 (Pakistan) - Complaint date: 08-OCT-64 - Closed

1. 47. The complaint of the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions (I.F.C.T.U) is contained in a communication addressed to the I.L.O on 8 October 1964. It was transmitted to the Government for its observations on 13 October 1964, and the Government replied on 11 December 1964.
2. 48. Pakistan has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 49. The complainants allege that the Government refused two members of trade unions in Pakistan affiliated to the I.F.C.T.U permission to leave the country to attend a workers' education seminar organised by that organisation in Oxford in August 1964. They infer from this that trade unionists in Pakistan are not free to leave their country to attend trade union conferences, seminars or other meetings abroad, which, they add, is in contradiction with International Labour Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.
2. 50. The Government begins its observations with an assurance that trade unions in Pakistan enjoy full freedom under the Trade Unions Act, which incorporates the provisions of International Labour Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.
3. 51. As regards the substance of the complaint, the Government states that under the laws and regulations of the country citizens of Pakistan wishing to go abroad have to complete certain formalities such as obtaining a passport, exit visa, etc. These rules, the Government adds, are applicable to all citizens and make no distinction on account of their status or functions.
4. 52. The Government states that the trade unionists named by the complainants failed to complete the requisite formalities in time, and that this was the sole reason why they were not allowed to go to the seminar to which they had been invited.
5. 53. As proof of its sincerity the Government cites the case of two other trade unionists, whom it names, who went to Hong Kong to participate in another seminar organised by the complaining organisation, having completed the requisite formalities in time.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 54. The Committee has always emphasised the essential nature of Article 5 of Convention No. 87, which states, inter alia, that national trade union organisations should have the right to affiliate with international organisations of workers, and has affirmed that this right normally carries with it the right of representatives of national organisations to maintain contact with the international organisations with which they are affiliated and to take part in the work of those organisations.
2. 55. In the present case it does not appear that, as alleged by the complainants, there has been systematic violation by the Government of the principle enunciated above, since on the occasion of another seminar organised by the complaining organisation no obstacle was placed in the way of Pakistani trade unionists leaving the country.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 56. Since it would appear from the foregoing that the trade unionists named by I.F.C.T.U were prevented from going abroad to attend a workers' education seminar purely as a result of their own carelessness, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that the case does not call for further examination.