12 July 2004	Monday	23 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

HYDERABAD, July 11: The National Labour Federation has given a call to the Trade Union Action Committee, Pakistan, to go for a countrywide strike on July 29 or another date to pressurise the government to resolve problems of workers.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday Sindh NLF president Rana Mehmood Ali Khan, Hyderabad zone general- secretary Shakeel Ahmad Shaikh, Army Welfare Sugar Mills Workers Union general-secretary Syed Ali Mohammad Shah, Mehnat Kash Union Bawani Sugar Mills president Khameeso Khan and others said the working class had exhausted its patience due to anti-workers' policies of the government.

They said promulgation of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002, was aimed at shackling the trade union movement. Under this ordinance, genuine and independent trade unions were banned and their activities were restricted and high courts were designated as labour appellate courts, they further said.

Similarly, the labour leaders said the Compulsory Retirement Ordinance, 2000, was a violation of all norms and justice. They said the slogan of poverty alleviation was a hoax as poverty, hunger and price-hike had made lives of poor people and the working class miserable.

Criticizing the government for not initiating any programme to create new job opportunities, they said unemployment had created resentment and disappointment among the youth.

The union leaders said the situation was worse in Sindh where sugar mill owners had dismissed permanent workers and introduced a contract system. They regretted that workers were forced to work on nominal wages and without any appointment letters.

They criticized the labour department for not imposing labour laws. They said the Trade Union Action Committee had been constituted by 13 labour federations to struggle against anti-workers' ordinances but the government had frustrated all efforts of the committee and even refused to acknowledge its existence.

They expressed the hope that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, People's Party Parliamentarians, Pakistan Muslim League-N and other political and students' organizations would support the union's strike call for repeal of what they called black laws and revival of trade union activities.

Answering a question, the NLF chief said about 40 per cent of factories were lying closed in the country. He said Habib, Fauji, Al-Noor, Farhan and Shah Murad sugar mills had retrenched all permanent workers and introduced a contract system.