KARACHI, Feb 11: Leaders representing various labour wings have condemned the government move to bulldoze a worker-friendly bill tabled by the opposition in the parliament, and urged the government that all anti-worker laws be revoked immediately.

They were speaking at a press conference, organized by the Trade Unions Action Committee (TUAC), at Karachi Press Club on Friday.

Labour leaders S P Lodhi, Saleem Raza, Habibuddin Junaidi, Rafiq Ahmed and Shaikh Majeed said the workers had been agitating against various anti-worker laws, including IRO 2002, Section 2B of the Banking Companies Ordinance 1962; Section 2A of the Federal Services Tribunal 1973 and Ordinance 2000, empowering employers to sack employees, but the government had been using delaying tactics, in the name of their review.

They pointed out that a meeting of the TUAC central committee is being organized to discuss the current anti-worker steps taken by the government so that a future strategy could be formulated.

They said that an All-Pakistan labour conference was also organized that was attended by the representatives of over 500 trade unions from all over the country and it had unanimously called for revoking all those black laws which were causing sufferings to workers.

They said that the opposition political parties had been expressing solidarity with the workers and PPP senator Raza Rabbani after consultations with labour leaders had submitted a bill in the Upper House for abolishing these anti-worker laws, but the treasury benches, using their numerical strength in the Senate bulldozed and rejected it and voted out the bill. They said that this has exposed the government's anti-worker face.

The Trade Unions Action Committee comprises: National Trade Unions Federation, The Banks Trade Unions Alliance, National Labour Federation, People's Labour Bureau, All Pakistan Trade Unions Congress, Personnel Foundation, Pakistan National Federation of Trade Unions, Al Pakistan federation of Labour, Railway Workers Federation, Pakistan Trade Unions Federation, Mehran Labour Federation etc.