September 05, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 04, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 4: The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved The Industrial Relations Bill 2008 which will repeal the infamous Industrial relations Ordinance of 2002 and revive the law of 1969 ‘for not more than one and a half years’ when a new consensus legislation will be tabled in parliament.

Leader of the House Mian Raza Rabbani, who piloted the bill on behalf of the minister for labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis, termed the IRO a black law promulgated by a dictator at the behest of capitalist financial interests to deprive the working class of its right to bargain with employers.

He said the new law would consolidate and rationalise rules relating to formation of trade unions and improve relations between employers and workers in accordance with a report of the house standing committee on labour.

The bill will fulfil the government’s vision about the dignity of labour, elimination of discriminatory policies against the working class and fostering a relationship of trust between workers and employers.

The bill, which in fact is the industrial relations law of 1969, will revive tripartite tribunals and ensure speedy disposal of labour-employer cases.

After a debate about the period when the government would bring a new bill, Senator Rabbani assured that it would be done within one and a half years after consultations with all segments of society in a conference of workers, employers, government representatives and experts.

The government also agreed to incorporate two amendments to the new legislation -- one in paragraph 1 of clause 2 moved by PML-Q’s Anwar Bhinder and the other by Prof Ibrahim Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami in paragraph 9 of clause 2.

The house decided to defer further reading of The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2008 which sought to provide relief to prisoners from being sent to death cells and chained before rejection of their appeals by the Supreme Court.