KARACHI, May 20: Workers demanding the restoration of trade union activities in all organizations have demanded that various anti-labour laws banning these activities be abolished immediately.

Speaking at a press conference, leaders of the Joint Coordination Council of Trade Unions, on Monday, demanded that other repressive laws such as the Presidential Order 2000 and 2001, under which workers could be sacked, be abolished as well.

They demanded that seats for workers be reserved in Parliament so that they could safeguard their rights and ensure that no anti-labour laws were formulated.

They urged that the salary package for workers of those organizations that were to be privatized be announced before privatization, so that the new management could not exploit the workers later.

They also demanded that workers of various organizations who had been sacked for taking part in union activities, or those who have been sacked under the garb of privatization, rightsizing, downsizing, etc, be reinstated immediately.

The speakers said that all those workers who had been placed in the surplus pools created by different organizations be provided training in new technologies so that they could be absorbed and their talents duly utilized by their organizations.

They added that workers’ facilities that had been withdrawn by the managements of PIA, Steel Mills, PTCL, etc, be restored. The deduction that had been introduced under the recently announced pay scales for retiring workers be taken back and old facilities be restored.

The speakers called for the holding of referendum in all the organizations so that the elected representatives of the workers could negotiate with the managements to safeguard the rights of workers.

Claiming that the authorities planned to sack thousands of workers from three banks soon, they warned that if such an action was taken, it would create unrest among the workers, in particular, and the people, in general. They said that keeping in view the depressing economic situation, no more workers should be sacked.

They also warned the government not to follow the dictates of international donors because the economy had already been crippled by their advice that was in favour of the industrialized and rich countries of the West, and not in favour of the economy of the developing countries.

JCCTU leaders Haji Mohammad Yunus, Manzoor Ahmad Razi, Khaqan Mirza, Wahab Baloch, Liaquat Sahi, S. Sirajul Hassan and others also spoke.