KARACHI, March 15: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) has refused to restore trade union activities in the organization, it is reliably learnt.

According to sources, the KESC in a communication to the federal government has maintained that restoration of union activities at this stage would not be in the interest of the Corporation.

The federal government had approached the KESC in reference to a concern expressed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the issue. Earlier, the ILO had urged the government to restore trade union activities in the KESC.

According to the sources, the union activities were banned in the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and the KESC within a gap of few months. The union activities have been allowed in Wapda, while the KESC workers still remained deprived of their democratic rights. The ban on union activities in Wapda was imposed in December 1998 and in the KESC the activities were banned in May 1999. After requests by the ILO, the government lifted the ban in Wapda in July 2000.

Earlier, the government in a communication to the ILO had said that trade union activities and the check-off system had not yet been restored in the KESC, because of its ongoing financial and organizational restructuring.

The government had said that a technical and financial support agreement had been reached between the government and the Asian Development Bank which could serve as an instrument to improve the KESC’s financial situation. It said that restoration of the trade union rights depended on a favourable change in KESC’s financial position.

The sources said that the ILO had expressed concern over the government’s response and had observed that the government had merely repeated its previous argument that it would restore trade union rights as soon as the enterprise became viable and productive.

The ILO had emphasized that freedom of association conventions did not contain any provision permitting derogation from the obligation arising under the convention or any suspension of their application based on a plea that an emergency existed. The KESC had said that the major function of the union was to look after the welfare of the labourers, most important of which was the revision of workers’ pay and allowances. It said that the KESC had recently raised the salaries by around 35 per cent and again it would be revised in about a couple of years.

It said that the privatization of the KESC was also in the offing, and one of the unions had filed a case in the court of law against the privatization. Hence, giving boost to labour activities through lifting of the ban at this stage would have adverse effects on the interest of prospective foreign buyers.