ISLAMABAD, March 23: The National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) has directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) to seal the record of the recently-held referendum of its employees.

The NIRC also asked the PTCL officials to submit the details of the strength of the company employees on March 30. Abdul Hafeez Amjad Advocate on behalf of the PTCL Staff Union in a petition under section 20 (9-E) of the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 pleaded that the CBA certificate issued to the PTCL Employees' Union be recalled and second poll be ordered as the union had obtained the certificate through fraud.

He said the registration office of the commission was reluctant to register the case and the matter be entertained directly. The counsel contended that the respondent trade union had not been able to secure one-third vote of the total workers employed in the PTCL and thus it was not qualified to be certificated as a CBA.

He pleaded that the list of workers, provided by the PTCL for the referendum, was not the same as was placed before the RITU at the time when the CBA certificate was issued.

The petitioner said the daily wage employees, who had been shown as workers in the list provided before the date of the referendum, had been included for determining one-third votes entitling the PTCL Employees Union for its certification as a CBA.

It was also stated that the total number of workers had been shown to be 50,076, which was incorrect and contradictory to the list produced at the earlier stage of the referendum proceedings. The total number of votes shown in the final result was also contradictory to that prepared by the polling officers, he maintained.