Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 326, November 2001

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

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

1. 120. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2001 meeting when it had urged the Government to lift the ban on trade union activities in the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) and to restore the trade union and collective bargaining rights of KESC workers without delay. It had also requested the Government to keep it informed of any developments in respect of union officials from the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and KESC who were forcibly retired [see 325th Report, paras. 53-56].
2. 121. In a communication dated 20 August 2001, the Government states that trade union activities and the check-off system have not yet been restored in KESC due to its ongoing financial and organizational restructuring. The organization is facing recurring operational deficits due to a number of factors. A technical and financial support agreement has been reached between the Government and the Asian Development Bank which could serve as an instrument to improve KESC’s financial situation. The restoration of trade union rights in KESC depends on a favourable change in its financial situation.
3. 122. The Committee notes with serious concern that the Government merely repeats its previous argument that it will restore trade union rights in KESC as soon as the enterprise becomes viable and productive again [see 323rd Report, para. 427]. The Committee is therefore bound to remind the Government once again that the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has emphasized that the freedom of association Conventions do not contain any provision permitting derogation from the obligations arising under the Convention, or any suspension of their application based on a plea that an emergency exists [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, para. 186]. Furthermore, the Committee considers that the viability or productivity of an enterprise must not be a precondition for the guarantee of the fundamental rights of freedom of association. As a result, the Committee once again urges the Government to lift the ban on trade union activities in KESC. It further urges the Government to take the appropriate measures to ensure that the right of the KESC Democratic Mazdoor Union as collective bargaining agent is restored without delay. It requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard.
4. 123. The Committee once again requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in respect of WAPDA and KESC union officials who were forcibly retired.