IN December 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over the reins of government and began to implement his election manifesto. He nationalised a number of key industries, banks and educational institutions. Indus­trialists and investors as well as the general public were bewildered. Industrial labour and the unions/labour federations, were given full freedom to agitate against their employers and participate in the struggle to obtain their rights under the labour laws.

Bhutto also carried out substantive amendments to the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, and the West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968. He introduced the concept of workers’ participation in management derived from the Scandinavian countries. The induction of the joint management board, management committee and shop stewards provided an opportunity for workers to become equal stakeholders in managing their factory’s affairs.

The PPP government enforced prominent labour laws to increase workers’ emoluments, regularise the employment terms and conditions of newspaper employees and introduce a post-retirement pension. There­after, no government could contribute so much towards the workers’ welfare. Gen Ziaul Haq introduced the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordina­nce, 1981, but it was hardly implemented.

It is ironic that despite its unprecedented labour reforms, Bhutto’s government is remembered only for labour unrest, violent agitation, unlawful strikes and work stoppage, closure of factories and persecution of employers. Despite the negative factors, his initiative led to, for the first time, an awakening among the workers about their rights. Resultantly, progressive companies formed labour forums, which facilitated communication between employers and workers. Previously, under Ayub Khan, many industries had been set up but union activities and labour movements remained dormant for the most part.

Sindh’s agenda of devolving critical labour laws is a blessing.

After the 18th Amendment, which de­­volved labour laws to the provinces, the PPP government in Sindh promulgated 13 laws that had been in the federal government’s domain. Lack of coordination among the provinces and the centre has created countrywide issues on account of enforcement of welfare laws by the Sindh government. Never­theless, the Sindh government’s highly ambitious agenda of devolving all critical labour laws may be counted as a blessing.

The Sindh Companies Profits (Workers’ Participation) Act, 2015, has restored all those benefits to workers, which were declared void by the Sindh High Court through its judgement on Feb 26, 2011, on technical grounds. These include an enhanced number of employees who can have a share in company profits, an increase in the amount of the shares and the eligibility of contractors’ employees to also receive shares.

Governments in other provinces have not devolved the federal law of Companies Profits (Workers’ Participation) Act, 1968. Therefore, the court’s judgement, followed by its confirmation by the Supreme Court, continues to apply to companies operating in these provinces. As the 1968 act was not amended after the 18th Amendment, workers in these provinces stand ousted from its provisions. In order to extend benefits to their workers from the huge allocations for the workers’ profit participation fund, many companies are taking a risk by following the Sindh Act, 2015, which is otherwise not applicable outside the province.

Similarly, the concern shown by Sindh in looking after persons with disabilities is commendable. The government introduced the Sindh Differently Abled Persons (Emp­loyment, Reha­bi­litation and Welfare) Act, 2014, whereby the recruitment quota of PWDs, was increased from one per cent to 5pc. Going a step further the government promulgated the Sindh Em­­powerment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2018, by repealing the act of 2014. Besides being a labour law, it protects the rights and interests of PWDs in a comprehensive way.

While the quota for recruitment of PWDs is 1pc in the federal law and 3pc in Punjab, it is 5pc in the Sindh law of 2018. The act attempts to give effect to the UN convention on the rights of PWDs, which was ratified by Pakistan in October 2011.

Unlike laws for PWDs made by other provinces, the Sindh law includes persons suffering from serious diseases such as locomotor disabilities, neuro-developmental disorders and disabilities caused by chronic neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.

Despite being a worthy initiative, the goals of the law are so challenging that they will require assistance from agencies outside Pakistan for implementation. It would have been better had the Sindh government coordinated with the other provinces and especially the federal government before enforcing the act.

The writer is an industrial relations professional and teaches at IBA.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2020