Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1951)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received.

The Committee takes note of the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 18 September 2002 and by the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU) dated 11 November 2002, which concern the promulgation of the new Industrial Relations Ordinance of 2002. The Committee requests that the Government transmit, with its next report, its observations in this regard, so that it may examine these points at its next meeting. It also notes the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2096 (329th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 285th Session in November 2002).

As regards certain other points previously referred to in its comments, the Committee must repeat its observations, which read as follows:

Article 2 of the Convention

1. The Committee notes from the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association that the Government still has not lifted the ban on trade union activities at Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) and restored the rights of the KESC Democratic Mazdoor Union as collective bargaining agent. The Committee once again urges the Government to take such measures without delay and to indicate the progress made in this regard in its next report.

2. The Committee noted the indication in the Government’s report for last year that it had authorized the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) to frame draft labour legislation and that draft labour laws were being finalized by the Authority and sent to the relevant ministries of the federal Government for vetting, clearance and enactment. The Committee once again trusts that this legislation will ensure the rights under the Convention to EPZ workers and requests the Government to indicate in its next report the progress made in this regard and to transmit a copy of any relevant draft texts or adopted legislation.

Article 3

Right to elect officers freely. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the information provided by the Government concerning section 27-B of the Banking Companies Ordinance of 1962, which restricted the possibility of becoming an officer of a bank union only to employees of the bank in question, under penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment. The Committee once again recalls that provisions of this type infringe the right of workers’ organizations to elect representatives in full freedom by preventing qualified persons, such as full-time union officers or pensioners, from carrying out union duties or by depriving unions of the benefit of the experience of certain officers when they are unable to provide enough qualified persons among their own ranks. Therefore, the Committee once again requests the Government to amend its legislation in order to bring it into conformity with the Convention, either by exempting from the occupational requirement a reasonable proportion of the officers of an organization, or by admitting as candidates persons who have been previously employed in the banking company.

Finally, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether Presidential Ordinance No. IV of 1999, which amends the Anti-Terrorism Act by penalizing the creation of civil commotion, including illegal strikes or go-slows, with up to seven years’ imprisonment, is still applicable.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2003.]