KARACHI, Jan 19: Trade unionists have criticised the Industrial Relations Ordinance.

Prominent labour laws expert and trade unionist, S.P. Lodhi, while addressing a trade unions conference organized by the Pakistan People’s Party here on Sunday said the IRO encouraged pocket unions.

“The new law is aimed at fulfilling the requirements of the WTO of making the entire world a “ free trading estate” so as to control the economies of small nations and states,” he said.

Mian Raza Rabbani, acting secretary general of the PPP, said the PPP had rejected the IRO 2002 in line with the decision taken by the Trade Unions Action Committee comprising seventeen labour federations of the country.—APP