TRADE UNION IN PAKISTAN

TRADE UNION
Trade union is a register body and representatives of workers for any
organization.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Relationship between employer and workers or their representatives is

called Industrial Relation.

EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

That in the beginning it was owner and slave, than owner/boss and
servant, than owner/boss and employee and later employer and employee.

As owner/boss and servant employment started in the field of agriculture,

small workshop and small level trade. The owner started having servants.

As owner/boss employment was termed agreement but rights and

responsibilities were not like present and as defined in proper agreement.

Since 1351 all law implemented in United Kingdom servant was facing
acute hardship. Servant could be imprisoned on breach of contract where
as owner has no binding and punishment on breach of contract. Servant
can not present and evidence against owner in the court. Only owner can
produce evidence in court.
As owner and slave there was no employment relationship
Direct relationship between worker and employer is called employment
relationship. The history of this relation ship is
In United Kingdom law was passed in 1824 and only servant was liable
for imprisonment on account of breach of contract, absent or non-
completion of work. It was declared crime on the part of servant.

In 1867 another law was passed the above punishment was restricted to
specific misconduct.

In 1875 Employer and Workmen Act was passed under which owner/boss
and servant was replaced with employer and employee and both rights
were equally accepted.
NEED OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.

Single worker bargaining power is very less as compared to employer.

CONCEPT OF CONFLICT

In normal circumstances the basis of conflict between Trade Union and

Management is capitalism and labouralism approaches. Same conflicts
exist in public sector so the real cause of conflict is not labour and capital
or conflict of interest but it is divergence of interest. For example there is
no difference in Union and Management for profitable organization. The
difference will be how profit is to be shared.

The second reason for conflict is that Management always feet union
existence as a challenge for power of management. Before Union the
management made all decisions for workers employment terms and
condition. But now it is decided with the consultation of collective
bargaining Agent.
Third reason for conflict is that Union believes that its role is to protect
only workers rights and the existence is only for handling management
against workers.

It can easily be sorted out if Management and Union accept each other
and play their role with in their jurisdiction and Union must protect
workers right along with organization profitability.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ORDINANCE, 2002

ISLAMABAD (October 29 2002) : following is the text of the

Ordinance promulgated by the President:

ORDINANCE NO. XCI OF 2002.

AN ORDINANCE: to amend, consolidate and rationalize the law

relating to formation of trade unions, regulation and improvement of
relations between employees and workmen and avoidance and
settlement of any differences or disputes arising between them;

WHEREAS it is expedient to amend, consolidate and rationalize the

law relating to formation of trade unions, regulation and
improvement of relations between employers and workmen and
avoidance and settlement of any differences or disputes arising
between them;

AND WHEREAS the President is satisfied that circumstances exist

which render it necessary to take immediate action;

NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the Proclamation of

Emergency of the fourteenth day of October, 1999, and the
Provisional Constitutional Order No.1 of 1999, read with the
Provisional Constitution (Amendment) Order No.9 of 1999, and in
exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to make and promulgate
the following Ordinance;-

This Ordinance may be called the Industrial Relations Ordinance,

2002.

(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

(4) It shall apply to al persons employed in any establishment or

group of establishments or industry except those employed (a) in the
Police or any of the Defense Services of Pakistan; (b) in any
installations or services exclusively connected with the Armed Forces
of Pakistan including Ministry of Defense lines of the Railways; (c)
by the Pakistan Security Printing corporation or the Security Papers
Limited or Pakistan Mint; (d) in the administration of the State other
than those employed as workmen by the Railways, Post Telegraph
and Telephone Departments; (e) by an establishment or institution
maintained for the treatment or care of sick, infirm, destitute and
mentally unfit persons excluding those run on commercial basis; (f)
by an institution established for payment of employees' old-age
pensions or for workers' welfare; (g) as a member of the Watch and
Ward, Security or finance Service Staff of an oil refinery or of an
establishment engaged in the production, transmission or
distribution of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas or petroleum
products or of a seaport or an airport.

Provided that the Federal Government may suspend, in the public

interest, by an order published in the official Gazette; the application
of this Ordinance to any establishment or industry for a period
specified in the order not exceeding six months at a time.

2. Definitions:-
In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject
or context,-

(i) "arbitrator" means a person appointed as such under this

Ordinance;

(ii) "award" means the determination by a labour Court, Arbitrator

or an Appellate Court of competent jurisdiction of any industrial
dispute or any matter relating thereto and includes an interim
award;

(iii) "association" means any organization of employers formed

primarily for furthering and defending the interests and rights of
employers.

iv) "Board of Conciliators" means a tripartite Board of Conciliators

constituted under sub-section (3) of section 26;

(v) "collective bargaining agent" means the trade union of workmen

which, under section 20, is the agent of the workmen in the
establishment, group of establishments or, as the case may be,
industry in the matter of collective bargaining;

(vi) "collective bargaining unit" means those workers or class of

workers of an employer in one or more establishments coming within
the same class of industry whose terms and conditions on
employment are, or could appropriately be, the subject of collective
bargaining together;

(vii)" Commission" means the National Industrial Relations

Commission constituted under section 49;

(viii) "conciliation proceedings" means any proceedings before a

Conciliator or Board of Conciliators;

(ix) "Conciliator" means-

(a) a person appointed as such by the Federal Government under

sub-section (2) of section 26, in respect of disputes which the
Commission is competent to adjudicate and determine; and

(b) in respect of other disputes, a person appointed as such by the

Provincial Government under sub-section (1) of section 26.

(x) "employer" in relation to an establishment means any person or

body of person, whether incorporated or not, who or which employs
workmen in an establishment under a contract of employment and
includes-

(a) an heir, successor or assign, as the

case may be, of such person or, body as aforesaid;

(b) any person responsible for the direction, administration,

management and control of the establishment;

(c) the authority, in relation to an establishment or group of

establishments run by or under the authority of any department of
the Federal Government or a Provincial Government, appointed in
this behalf or, where no authority is appointed, the head of the
department;

(d) the office bearer, in relation to an establishment run by or on

behalf of a local authority, appointed in this behalf, or where no
officer is so appointed, the chief executive office bearer of that
authority;
(e) the proprietor, in relation to any other establishment, of such
establishment and every director, manger, secretary, agent or office
bearer or person concerned with the management of the affairs
thereof;

(f) a contractor or an establishment of a contractor who or which

undertakes to procure the labour or services of workmen for use by
another person or in another establishment for any purpose
whatsoever and for payment in any form and on any basis what so
ever; and (g)

office bearers of a department or Division of the Federal or

Provincial or local authority who belong to the managerial,
secretarial or directional cadre or categories of supervisors or agents
and those who have been notified for this purpose in the official
Gazette;

(xi) "establishment" means any office, firm, factory, society,

undertaking, company, shop, premises or enterprise which employs
workmen directly or through a contractor for the purpose of
carrying on any business or industry and includes all its departments
and branches, whether situated in the same place or in different
places having a common balance sheet and profit and loss account
and, except in section 54, includes a collective bargaining unit, if any,
constituted under that section in any establishment;

(xii) "executive" means a person or body of persons, by whatever

name called, to whom or which the management of the affairs of a
trade union is entrusted under its constitution;

(xiii) "group of establishments" means establishments belonging to

the same employer and the same industry;

(xiv) "illegal lock-out" means a lock-out declared, commenced or

continued otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this
Ordinance;

(xv) "illegal strike" means a strike declared, commenced or

continued otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this
ordinance;

(xvi) "industrial dispute" means any dispute or difference between

employers, and workmen or between workmen and workmen which
is concerned with the employment or non-employment or the terms
of employment or the conditions of work; and is not in respect of the
enforcement of any right guaranteed or accrued to workers by or
under any law, other than this Ordinance, or any award or
settlement for the time being in force;

(xvii) "industry" means any business, trade, manufacture, calling,

service, occupation or employment engaged in an organized
economic activity of producing goods or services for sale, excluding
those set up exclusively for charitable purposes, operating, through
public or private donations where "charitable purpose" includes
provision of education, medical care, emergency relief and other
needs of the poor and indigent;

(xviii) "Inspector" means an Inspector appointed under this

Ordinance;

(xix) "Labour Court" means a Labour Court established under

section 44;

(xx) "lockout" means the closing of a place of employment or part of

such place or the suspension, of work, wholly or partly, by an
employer, or refusal, absolute or conditional, by an employer to
continue to employ any number of workmen employed by him where
such closing, suspension or refusal occurs in connection with an
industrial dispute or is intended for the purpose of compelling
workmen employed to accept certain terms and conditions of, or
affecting, employment;

(xxi) "office bearer" means any member of the executive of a trade

union in an establishment, industry or trade, but does not include in
auditor or legal advisor thereof;

(xxii) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under section

79;

(xxiii) "public utility service" means any of the services specified in

Schedule I;

((xxiv) "registered trade union" means a trade union registered

under this Ordinance;

(xxv) "Registrar" means Registrar of trade unions appointed under

section 57;

(xxvi) "settlement" means a settlement arrived at in the course of

conciliation proceedings, and includes an agreement between an
employer, the collective bargaining agent or work men, as the case
may be, arrived at otherwise than in the course of such proceedings,
where the agreement is in writing and has been signed by the parties
thereto in such manner an may be prescribed and a copy thereof has
been sent to the Provisional Government, the Conciliator and such
other persons as may be prescribed;

(xxvii) "Schedule" means the Schedule to the Ordinance;

(xxviii) "strike" means cessation of work by a body of persons

employed in any establishment acting in combination or a concerted
refusal or refusal under a common understanding of any number of
persons who have been so employed to continue to work or to accept
employment;

(xxix) "trade union" means any combination of workers formed

primarily for the purpose of furthering and defending the interests
and rights of workers in any industry or establishment and includes
an industry-wise federation of two or more collective bargaining
agent unions and a federation at the national level of ten or more
collective bargaining agent unions; and

(xxx) "worker" and "workman" means any and all persons not
falling within the definition of employer who is employed in an
establishment or industry for remuneration or reward either directly
or through a contractor, whether the terms of employment be
express or implied, and for the purpose of any proceeding under this
Ordinance in relation to an industrial dispute includes a person who
has been dismissed, discharged, retrenched, laid-off or otherwise
removed from employment in connection with or as a consequence of
that dispute or whose dismissal, discharge, retrenchment, lay-off or
removal has led to that dispute but does not include any person who
is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity.
RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS

Employer's Rights

(a) Right to conduct business.- The employer shall have the right to
manage, control and use the property of his enterprise and conduct
his business in any manner considered appropriate by him.

(b) Right to manage.- The employer shall have the right to use
available resources including human resources efficiently and
effectively in the best interest of the enterprise. Employer's Duties.

(a) While exercising the right to conduct business and the right to
manage the enterprise, the employer shall act in accordance with the
law and shall comply with the law faithfully.

(b) The employer shall protect rights of the workers as guaranteed

under the law or secured to them by any award, agreement or
settlement in force.

(c) The employer shall protect rights of the workers as guaranteed

under the law or secured to them by any award, agreement or
settlement in force.

(d) The employer shall protect and safeguard the interest of his
workers and take measures within his resources for their socio-
economic uplift and welfare. He shall create an environment
congenial for enhanced productivity of labour and maximum output
of the enterprise.

(e) The employer shall respect the right of the workers to

employment, wages, decent living and better quality of working life.
Worker's Rights

(a) Right to work, wage and Welfare.-

It is the right of a worker to work according to the job assigned and

to receive wages as per agreed terms and conditions of employment
and to such welfare benefits and safety measures as one is entitled to
according to law, agreement settlement and award.

(c) Right t freedom of association and collective bargaining and other

rights secured or guaranteed under this Ordinance and other laws.-

Worker has inherent right to trade unionism and collective

bargaining and the right to enjoy the benefits guaranteed to him
under the law, rules and regulations, settlement, award or
agreement.

(a) Worker will perform his duty, as assigned by the employer or his
representative, according to his best ability with due diligence, care,
honesty and commitment.

(b) Worker will fully observe norms of organizational discipline.

(c) Worker, in exercise of his right, will fully respect the rights of the
employer and will co-operate with him in he efficient performance of
the business of the establishment or , as the case may be enterprise.
 Trade Union Movement
In Pakistan, out of 36.13 million people in the labour force
only 800,000 are members of registered trade unions. This is
mainly due to the restrictive nature of the Industrial Relation
Ordinance and the Essential Service Act. These debar entire
categories of employees from forming their unions.

Pakistan's trade unions operate under a barrage of

restrictive laws. The government has extensive powers to
legally intervene in the internal affairs of the unions. This
makes legal strikes impossible; the authorities always favor
the business community - and politicians belong to the
feudal and rich businessmen class and repress workers'
rights.

The economic stakes are high, which means that unions

face accusations of being wreckers and traitors. Western
countries buy 97% of the carpets produced in Pakistan, India
and Nepal.

Trade unions in Pakistan deserve and need the backing of

the entire international trade union movement.

The labour laws in Pakistan apply only to workplaces

employing more than 50 workers and do not recognize those
who work less than 180 continuous days per year. Poor
working conditions, poor health and safety hazardous, long
working hours, under-pay - all of these coexist with lesser
remuneration. The right to form a union, a constitutional
provision, is denied to a large proportion of the workforce.
Consequently, the majority cannot practice collective
bargaining that is an instrument to protect the workers’
rights. In fact, existing labour laws do not cover the
agricultural sector as well as informal sector, where the
largest percentage of the work force is employed.
 The work of trade unions is seriously constrained by
government officials, such as the Labour Department
officials. They show loyalties to the employers rather than
workers. Corrupt officials and their coalition with employers
has also been found detrimental to the growth of trade
unionism.

Furthermore, many fierce actions by government

authorities have scared workers away from taking part in
union activities. For instance the government has arrested
union activists, including women, threatening their families
and firing them from their jobs. This is particularly the case
when the government perceives that trade unions are
becoming strong and getting a position as a pressure group;
then they take severe action against the unions and their
members.

This is what happened on April 16, 1998, when the

government raided and destroyed the offices of the "All
Pakistan Trade Union Federation." The action was in
retaliation against the federation's independent policies and
its fighting stance against privatization, deregulation,
growing inflation, unemployment and the government's anti-
people policies.

Besides, the feudal mindset of Pakistani employers is yet

another factor affecting very badly the growth of trade
unionism. They use several tactics to deny the workers' very
basic trade union rights. For example, they break factories
up into small units or fire workers to avoid having to comply
with labour laws and keep workers far from unions. Due to
the illegal and inhuman policies of the employers, large
numbers of women and men are working in contract, casual,
temporary, or home-based labour, and this system is
growing widespread in Pakistan; it completely deprives
workers of their legal rights, including their right to form
unions and collective bargaining.
 Workers employed in hospitals, educational institutions,
railways (open line), the radio corporation, the Security
Printing Press, the Defence Housing Societies, agriculture,
export processing zones, ordinance factories, Federal and
Provincial Government Service as well as in the informal
sectors have no real right to unionize and collective
bargaining. The government has imposed the Essential
Services Ordinance on public sector workers. This means
that though the have the formal right to form a union and to
collective bargaining, they have no right to strike and the
government has the authority to ban their trade union
activities at any time. The government also made
amendments to the Banking Ordinance of 1986, such that
now in section 27B provides that no worker can be entitled
to become a member or officer of the trade union, if he or
she is retrenched from the service.

The previous government banned the trade union activities

in the largest establishment - the Water & Power
Development Authority (WAPDA) -, which employed
135,000 workers. The government turned the WAPDA over
to the army in the name of putting an end to corruption. Yet
as recently as three months ago, the WAPDA - still under
army control - is incurring losses.

APTUF and WWO Vow to Continue Struggle

The All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF) and

the Working Women's Organization (WWO) are struggling
for society that is free from exploitation and devoted to full
employment, human dignity, gender equality and freedom to
forming trade unions and collective bargaining rights, as
well as freedom to speak. We are also struggling hard for the
elimination all kinds of child and bonded labour and have a
special Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour and
Bonded labour.
 As workers we understand that we really need to say No
to the existing injustice and yes to building a strong struggle
and solidarity among workers around the world.

Our concern is that the struggles against poverty,

unemployment, globalization, and the free market, anti-
workers policies of the IMF and World Bank should be the
main issues addressed by the trade unions.

We understand that meaningful advances and women's

participation in the labour force can not be made without the
proper integration of women workers in the policy-making
process.

APTUF and WWO realize that given the worsening

economic situation in Pakistan and India, the governments
of both countries - controlled as they are by the imperialist
forces and submitted to the dictates of the IMF and World
Bank - instead of taking radical steps for the improvement of
the social sectors have started the nuclear weapons' race.
This is because both ruling elites want to divert the public
attention away from their requirements and necessities.
APTUF and WWO also condemn these nuclear weapons
policies of both countries.

We believe that with collective struggle and resistance,

workers can defend their rights. Consequently eight (8) trade
union federations of national level have formed one
confederation named the Pakistan Workers Confederation
(PWC). Due to our continued struggle, the government
could not succeed in privatizing the Pakistan Railway and
other utility services; they were also stopped in other
downsizing and golden handshake schemes.

Due to growing inflation, the ban on trade union activities

and privatization, the APTUF/PWC held its annual general
body convention on February 8, 2000. Trade union
representatives, intellectuals and lawyers joined this
convention. It was decided there that the collectively charted
demands will be submitted to the Chief Executive of
Pakistan, General Prevaiz Mushraf. In addition to deciding
the platform of workers' demands, the convention drew up
an initial campaign of struggle to ensure government
acceptance of the workers' demands.

It is our strong conviction that trade union unity -

nationally and globally - is an urgent need to fight against
globalization, the new offensive of capitalism, and for
poverty-alleviation and jobs for all.