LAHORE, Dec 25: Representatives of six trade unions reiterated on Tuesday their pledge to continue the struggle to materialise the dream of Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam to build an egalitarian society in Pakistan.

Gathered under the banner of the Pakistan Workers Confederation (PWC) at Bashir Bakhtiar Labour Hall to celebrate the birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the representatives urged the government to take measures on war footing to overcome acuteshortage of electricity and gas that had been rendering thousands of workers jobless every day.

The focus should be on generation of electricity besides provision of gas to industrial units and the agriculture sector in order to check alarming rate of unemployment, according to a resolution unanimously adopted by representatives of the unions, including Pakistan Workers Federation, Muttahida Labour Federation, All Pakistan Trade Union Federation, National Trade Union Federation, Watan DostMazdoor Federation and Port Workers Federation Pakistan.

PWC Secretary-General Khurshid Ahmed presented the resolution along with Vice-President Yousaf Baloch, Punjab chapter President Rubina Jameel, Niaz Ahmad, Osama Tariq, Khushi Muhammad Khokhar and Salahuddin Ayubi.

The resolution asked the government to formulate an effective mechanism to check inflation after freezing the prices of essential commodities. It urged the government to adopt special measures to restore peace in Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan by initiating dialogue with all stakeholders and tackle the economic and social problems of the people by providing them employment.

The government should ensure speedy and cheaper justice to the workers by providing them free legal assistance from the Workers Welfare Fund and by appointing presiding officers in labour courts and the members of the National Industrial Relations Commission in order to get labour cases decided within stipulated time, it added.

The Industrial Relations Act 2012 and the laws governing formation of trade unions in enterprises with less than 50 workers should be brought in conformity with ILO Conventions ratified by the government, while Section 27/B of the Banking Companies Ordinance should be repealed.

The resolution urged the government to adopt economic self-reliance policy by enforcing austerity in all walks of life and by getting rid of the culture to rely on loans and debts at the earliest.

It asked the government to improve taxation system by imposing high tax rate on the import of luxurious goods and building of poshbungalows as well as on agricultural income to raise revenue for meeting the basic needs of the poor segments of society. It called for special measures for welfare of the female labour force by providing free education and training to them for raising their income generation capacities. Focus should be on rural women.

Minimum wages of workers should be commensurate with price hike and those of unskilled workers should be Rs15,000 a month. House rent, conveyance and hill allowances of employees of the federal, provincial governments, semi-government and autonomous bodies should be increased at least by 50 per cent of their basic pay scales. There should be a substantial increase in marriage and death grants, rate of educational scholarships under Benevolent Fund as well as maternity charges.

Provision of free medical facilities to industrial workers and their families after their superannuation or death should be ensured from the social security scheme as allowed to public sector employees.

The government should develop industrial infrastructure in the least developed areas, enabling the youth and labour force to have access to gainful employment. The resolution urged the government to take special measures for the welfare of the labour force intending to go abroad by providing them with technical assistance to equip themselves with requisite skill and knowledge to get employment.

It called for more transparent and efficient banking system in order to encourage overseas Pakistanis to send their remittances through legal channels instead of ‘Hundi’ or other illegal means.

Agrarian reforms should be introduced and uncultivated state land should be distributed among landless peasants after allocation of adequate resources for promotion of their farming skills and provision of marketing facilities for their products.

Adequate resources should be allocated in the GNP for provision of free but meaningful education and skills to each child by introducing a uniform syllabus throughout the country. Steps should also be taken for the development of multi-skilled labour force for the domestic and foreign markets.

The government should establish tripartite productivity, safety and health councils at national level to facilitate workers by providing education and training facilities to the labour at its workplace on the pattern of Japan, Korea, Singapore and other developed states.

The resolution urged the government to develop infrastructure for overcoming serious energy shortage and providing cheaper and abundant electricity and gas to the national industries through development of coal-fired thermal units and hydel power stations. Attention should be given to generate energy through wind resources in the coastal areas and steps should be initiated to discover more oil and gas resources in the country.

Focus should be on electricity generation in the public sector by upgrading thermal power stations of GENCOs in order to provide sufficient and cheaper electricity to meet growing demands of national industries and agriculture for productive purposes instead of relying on IPPs that wound continue to skyrocket the tariff.

Instead of privatising Wapda, PIA, Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, measures should be taken to increase their productivity through transparent management and curbing political interference.

Serious efforts should be made to develop cordial industrial relations between workers and management for maintaining industrial peace and welfare of the employees and raising productivity by bringing labour laws in conformity with ILO Conventions 87 and 98 that had been ratified by the Pakistan government.

Corporate social companies standards should be developed to meet the challenges of globalisation of economy by protecting and increasing exports of goods made in Pakistan after amending the labour laws in conformity with ILO ratified Conventions 100, 111, 138, 182, 29 and 105.

There should be an independent labour inspection mechanism in conformity with ILO ratified Convention 81. Special measures for elimination of child abuse and bonded labour should be taken to alleviate poverty.