LAHORE, Dec 15: The Pakistan Workers Confederation announced on Sunday that it would launch a protest campaign if the government did not repeal anti-worker and anti-trade union provisions in the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002.

Federation Senior Vice-President Chaudhry Talib Nawaz, Secretary-General Khurshid Ahmed told a meeting held here at Bakhtiar Labour Hall that instead of empowering the workers, the new legislation had curtailed the workers and trade unions’ rights of seeking judicial remedy from the National Industrial Relations Commission and labour courts.

They said the workers had not only been deprived of their fundamental trade union rights of collective bargaining but restriction had also been imposed on their right to strike. They said the workers had also been deprived of their legal right of representation on the management.

They appealed to the prime minister to restore the workers rights and bring the IRO 2002 in conformity with the ILO conventions besides lifting restrictions on trade union.