Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 329, November 2002

Case No 2006 (Pakistan) - Complaint date: 11-FEB-99 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 106. This case concerns a ban on trade union rights and activities at the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) and the forced retirement of trade union officials at KESC and at the Pakistan Water and Development Authority (WAPDA). When it last examined this case, the Committee urged once again the Government to lift the ban on trade union activities at KESC, and requested it to restore without delay the rights of the KESC Democratic Mazdoor Union as collective bargaining agent [326th Report, paras. 120-123].
2. 107. In a communication of 26 August 2002, the Government indicates that the KESC is being privatized and that the Ministry of Labour has taken up the issue of the protection of workers’ rights in that process with the Federal Steering Committee monitoring the restructuring and privatization of KESC. In that context:
   • – a package of compensation for KESC employees will be developed in consultation with employees’ representatives, under a Memorandum of Agreement between the relevant ministries and the All Pakistan State Workers Action Committee (APSWAC);
   • – upon being privatized, KESC will avoid the inclusion of any provision that may affect workers’ right to form trade unions under Conventions Nos. 87 and 98;
   • – KESC will enter a bilateral agreement with employees’ representatives to maintain good order and discipline in the unit after privatization; that agreement may include provisions fro the bilateral resolution of issues without resorting to industrial action.
3. 108. The Committee takes note of this information. Recalling that the Government should, without delay, lift the ban on trade union activities at KESC and restore the rights of the KESC Democratic Mazdoor Union as collective bargaining agent, the Committee urges once again the Government to take such measures without delay and to keep it informed of developments in the process of KESC privatization, in particular as regards the preservation of workers’ rights. The Committee further requests the Government to provide it with a copy of the agreement between the ministries and the APSWAC, once it is concluded.