LAHORE, Aug 25: The All-Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions has appealed to the prime minister to resolve the core issues faced by the labour class by holding purposeful talks with the trade union oragnizations.

The appeal was made by federation secretary-general Khurshid Ahmad at a meeting convened by the Bata Mazdoor League at the Bata Shoe Factory here on Monday.

He said the issues like unemployment, collective bargaining rights of workers, exploitation under the contract, temporary , daily wage and work-charged systems and the curbs imposed on trade union rights under the draconian Industrial Relation Ordinance promulgated by the military government required to be sorted out for ending unrest among the workers.

He said exemption of industrial units in the Punjab from inspections under the Factories Act, a federal law, was also a cause for serious concern among the workers.

He said discontinuation of inspection was likely to deprive workers of their basic trade union rights and health and safety cover available under the labour laws.

Bata Mazdoor League president Jamil Butt, secretary Atiqur Rehman Kiyani, APFTU president Amin Rathore, Irrigation Federation president Khushi Muhammad Khokhar, Muhammad Fayyaz (National Bank), Muhammad Afzal (PTCL), Hasan Munir Bhatti and Arshad Gujjar urged the government to withdraw baseless cases registered against the trade union leaders. They also urged the Bata management to negotiate with the union on its charter of demands.