ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: A large number of protesting workers on Thursday forced legislators to make a one-time 120-day extension to the presidential ordinance that was promulgated to cover industrial relations in Islamabad capital territory and resolve trans-provincial industrial issues.

President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2011 on July 16 to fill the legal vacuum following the deletion of the concurrent legislative list through the 18th constitutional amendment.

The labourers were expecting that the ordinance would become a law but it did not happen during the 120 days and was scheduled to lapse on Thursday.

To pre-empt the possible lapse of the ordinance and opposition from industrialists, who have a strong presence in the National Assembly, the workers from both public and private sectors held a protest rally towards the parliament house.

They also protested against those legislators, especially some MNAs of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), who had voiced concerns over extension in the ordinance.

The protesters staged a sit-in in front of the parliament house until the lower house passed a resolution extending the ordinance for another 120 days.

The protesters were carrying placards inscribed with slogans like 'Save workers from desolation,' 'Don't snatch the rights of decent living from workers,' etc.

The working class across the country has criticised the government move to transfer labour laws to provinces. “The decision was meant to divide the working class,” the general secretary of Pakistan Workers Federation, M. Zahoor Awan, told Dawn.

He said a delegation of workers met chief whip of the PPP and federal minister Khurshid Shah to convince him for moving a resolution in the National Assembly for one-time extension in the ordinance.

However, Mr Awan said there was report that some MNAs of the PML-N were trying to block the move. As a result, he said, the workers decided to march towards the National Assembly to ensure extension in the ordinance.

He hoped that the extension in the ordinance would give enough time to the members of the standing committee concerned to approve and place it before the house for making a law.

Earlier, MNA Zahid Hamid of the PML-N on the floor of the assembly voiced concerns over tabling of the resolution, saying it was not the mandate of the parliament to bring a resolution to seek extension in the ordinance.

But contrary to his claim, the sub-clause 2 of Article 89 of the constitution allows for extension in the period of an ordinance by another 120 days.

However, due to the persistent protests by the workers, Mr Hamid lost the ground for opposing the resolution and diverted the debate towards a non-issue by saying that the government was supporting the workers to chant slogans against the PML-N.

At this, Khurshid Shah said the workers were protesting on their own to ensure extension in the ordinance. Even opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan later said he had confidence in what Mr Shah had said.