HYDERABAD, Oct 13: The secretary-general of the Worker-Employer Bilateral Council of Pakistan, Prof Shafi Malik, has said that industrial peace, working conditions and job security play a pivotal role in increasing production of an industrial unit and maintaining quality of products.

He was speaking on 'Bilateral social dialogue for industrial growth' at a function jointly organized by the Hyderabad, Kotri and Nooriabad chapters of the council at a hotel here on Wednesday. The convenor of the council, Ehsanullah Khan, presided over the function.

Prof Malik said that job security and good working conditions led to better performance of workers. He, however, observed that there was an incompatibility in the thinking and attitude of both the employers and the employees in the country and they did not trust each other; as a result they had to go to the labour department for arbitration.

He said that the role of the labour department for reconciliation was not satisfactory. Therefore, employers and trade unions in 98 per cent of the cases resolved their issues through mutual negotiations and agreements.

Prof Malik said that the reconciliation officers of the labour department held meetings with the two parties as a formality and more often than not exploited the employer.

He said it was due to this attitude of the labour department that both the employers and the employees had lost confidence in the reconciliation officer. He was of the opinion that positive results could be achieved if employers and employees tried to understand problems of each other and resolved contentious issues through negotiations.

He said that the basic purpose of the council was to resolve bilateral issues without involving the third party (labour department). Speaking on the occasion, Abdul Qadir said that the establishment of the council was an important step towards forging cordial relations between employer and employee.

Mr Khan said that the chapters of the council had been formed in important industrial centres and in due course of time, the organisation would start working in each industrial unit. The office-bearers of Hyderabad, Kotri and Nooriabad chapters of the council were appointed on the occasion.