Federal labour minister Khursheed Shah says the government is working on the new draft of the Industrial Rela-tions Ordinance (IRO) 2008 to replace what he describes as the now suspended IRO 2002.

In a meeting with labour leaders in Lahore last week, according to some participants, he assured the labour organisations and their leaders that the Pakistan People’s Party intends to remove or change all the provisions in the laws that discriminate against or curbed the constitutional rights of working classes like formation of trade unions in the private and public sector. Also, he promised to implement these laws in letter and spirit.

The workers and their organisations have been waiting for the new IRO with their fingers crossed since the day Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani announced to remove restrictions on trade and student union activities in his maiden speech in the National Assembly.

“Though the prime minister has made the announcement, the government has so far not taken any concrete step to restore the workers rights,” says Mohammad Yaqoob, chairman of the Muttehida Labour Federation (MLF).

Though the prime minister’s announcement to revive trade union activities was widely appreciated by labour bodies, it also raised many eyebrows.

“The government thinks that the industry doesn’t have many problems, says Akber Sheikh, a leading yarn maker and builder from Lahore.

“The revival of trade unionism in industrial units will benefit neither government nor industry nor labour,” he says. “It will only encourage conflict between the employees and their employers,” he hastens to add.

“We are not yet ready for trade unionism. It needs maturity. We should have first focused on sustainability of our economy and tried to steer it out of the crisis it finds itself in now before reviving trade unions,” Sheikh insists.

His remarks are indicative of a strong resentment found among the employers against the government’s decision to encourage trade unions. These are also a reminder of the tense relationship between the workers and their employers.

“Pakistan’s history of industrial and business development is actually history of denial of labour rights in the name of national progress and prosperity,” says a professor of sociology at a public sector university in Lahore on the condition of anonymity.

“Except for a brief stint of democratically elected government of Z. A. Bhutto in the 1970s, our working classes have never enjoyed their constitutional and legal rights,” he says.

“ The private entrepreneur does not consider his workers as his partners in the development of his business. The labour is treated just like any other input, whose cost has to be held down to make more money,” the professor says.

“Few, if any, look at their workers as human brings and recognise the critical importance of a satisfied and healthy worker in the production processes,” he argues.

Given the big business’s clout in the establishment, most governments - especially military regimes, have always collaborated with the employers to institute anti-labour policies, to curb their rights and freedoms and encouraged weak enforcement of labour laws.

Hanif Ramay, another labour leader who is fighting against his case against termination of his services by a cycle-making unit since 1988 for taking part in trade union activities, blamed regimes of

General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf for suppressing the workers rights to form trade unions and weakening their ability to bargain with employers for improvement in their working conditions.

“If people remember Zia for using military to kill protesting workers inside a textile mill in Multan and placing ban forming trade unions in various sectors, Musharraf will be remembered for replacing the IRO 1969 by IRO 2002, which effectively curbed the possibility of forming a trade union in any private company or strike work to force a delinquent employer comply with the labour laws. The legal protection against the arbitrary dismissals of workers was taken away. Also, the Shaukat Aziz through Finance Bill 2006 effectively increased daily work hours to 12 from eight, reduced overtime compensation, and created a new category of contract worker not entitled to any legal compensation for overtime work,” Ramay says.

He says these changes have provided the employers new avenues to exploit the workers financially and otherwise. “Now we have a new category of temporary workers who are not entitled to any benefit allowed under the labour laws. If you visit a unit you won’t find more than 30 per cent permanent employees. The worst victim of the changes brought about through the finance bill are women, who are paid less than men and are exploited to work till 10 pm (in double shifts though),” he argues.

“The changes violate the international labour standards and International Labour Organisation Conventions and amount to denying the workers their constitutional rights. Yet you can’t do anything about it,” Ramay complains.

On top of that, Yaqoob says, the provincial government of Punjab gave its industrial policy in 2003, which effectively prohibited labour and other inspections of industrial units. That gave the entrepreneurs a free hand to hire and fire them at will without any notice. Nobody is there to check if the employers are implementing the labour laws, he says.

The decision to do away with labour inspection meant that the labour laws could be violated with impunity and without any fear for official action against the delinquent industry, Yaqoob says. Only a few employers implement the minimum wage law, he alleges, adding nobody could protest against this exploitation because it would cost him his job.

“Practically, we have few active trade unions today. For example, bank employees have trade unions but they cannot take part in any such activity during banking hours. The banking hours practically stretch throughout the day so when can one involve himself in trade union activities?,” Ramay wonders.

A major reason that allows the employers influence and bend various governments to take anti-labour actions so easily is the inherent weakness in the labour movement, says the professor.

“Because of the severe state suppression and collaboration between the bureaucracy and the business since the inception of Pakistan, the labour movement has never had an opportunity to consolidate itself. The politicians too didn’t help as none of the political parties barring the exception of the PPP ever spoke of the workers rights.

The labour leaders lost the opportunity to consolidate themselves during the Bhutto period and the entire movement withered away after General Zia banned trade unions in various public sector organisations and backed the private sector in suppressing the labour groups. The labour wings of some religious parties were also used as a tool to eliminate or adversely weaken the left-oriented trade unions,” he says.

Ramay agrees with him and says only up to five per cent workers are organised in trade unions across the country at present.

Yaqoob says it is very difficult to organise trade unions in private sector. “We are now waiting for the PPP government to bring the new IRO with hopes that it will at least protect those who ever try to form a union in any industry.

He also suggested that the government should call a tripartite conference of workers, employers and officials to discuss the proposed IRO 2008 before finalising it.

“We are passing through a transitional period and we should move ahead with everyone on board so that whatever is decided is implemented and enforced in letter and spirit. We don’t want to infringe on the rights and privileges of employers. But we also want workers interests and rights protected well,” says Ramay.