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PAKISTAN: Illegal ban of trade unions by the government

September 29, 2006

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Pakistan authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.] URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

29 September 2006
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UA-322-2006: PAKISTAN: Illegal ban of trade unions by the government

PAKISTAN: Repression of union activities; denial of freedom of association and labour rights
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that the Ministry of Defence Production has illegally banned the trade unions of an industrial corporation named Karahi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan on 26 August 2006. The cancellation order of the registration of the concerned trade unions was imposed without lawful procedures. This action directly affects about 3,000 workers.

The trade unions in a huge industrial corporation named Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) were have been illegally banned by the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) under the Sindh provincial government through an order dated 26 August 2006. The Sindh provincial government reportedly took this action at the behest of the federal minister of defence production.

This ban has been imposed while the management of the KSEW was having conciliation meetings with a labour union, the sole collective bargaining agency of the KSEW, on the charter of demands which has been pending before the ministry of defence production since 2003. According to the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 (IRO 2002), labour unions can submit their charter of demands that describes specific demands of employees, to the company administration every two years and both sides begin negotiations to come to an agreement on the charter. Previously, as the management and the trade unions of the KSEW could come to an agreement on the charter, according to labour law procedures, the matter was referred to the labour department under the ministry of defence production in 2003.     

Simultaneously, the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) was having a series of conciliation meetings with different trade unions of the KSEW to discuss the process of the coming referendum for the assertion of a collective bargaining agency (CBA), which is required to be held every two years of the term according to labour law. The meeting began on 1 August 2006 and continued at the RTU's office until the third week of August, 2006. 

While the meetings were ongoing, on August 5, the Ministry of Defence Production of the federal government of Pakistan issued a notification that the KSEW, which was a private corporation, became "a public limited company".  However, this notification did not mention anything about the ban on trade union activities and the RTU conducted the meetings with trade unions of the KSEW. 

But on August 26, the RTU suddenly banned the trade unions of the KSEW and halted the meetings with the unions, saying that "in light of the notification dated 5 August 2006 that was issued by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Production of the federal government of Pakistan, the trade unions of KSEW ceased to exist till further order". This action directly affected about 3,000 workers.

The cancellation of registration of trade unions of KSEW is a gross violation of Constitution of Pakistan and supplemental labour laws that guarantees labour rights and the freedom of association. According to Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan, "every citizen has the right to join an association/union." Clause 3 of section 12 of IRO 2002 also mentions, "The registrar has power to cancel the registration of a trade union when after holding such enquiry as he deems fit, he finds that such trade union has dissolved itself or as ceased to exist."

However, as far as we confirmed, the RTU did not issue any notice to the trade unions of the KSEW before cancellation of their registrations. Therefore, the said cancellation order was passed without any lawful procedures and therefore gives no lawful authority to the order. This is also against the freedom of association, the right to association and the right to collective bargaining of the workers that are pertained in ILO convention Nos. 87 and 98. 

BACKGROUND INFORMAITON:

The Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) is registered under the Factories Act of 1934. This establishment is not exclusively connected with the defence productions but its major customers (almost 80%) are the sugar mills, foundries, rolling mills and shipping companies belonging to the private sector. It has been running a training centre where provides skill training programme on payment in the trade including welding, fabrication, electrician, pipe fitter, mechanical fitter. Since the company's establishment, trade unions were set up and were conducting union activities until the ban was enforced.

Since the military took over the government through a coup in 1999, the Pakistan government has not allowed the smooth functioning of trade unionism and has not entered into any agreements regarding increases in wages and other benefits of workers.

Beside this, the Management of the KSEW has not given the government announced allowances (in shape of dearness allowance) to the workers from time to time. Also, the military government has retrenched about 7000 workers in different periods of seven years and employing workers purely on daily wages and contracts.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant government authorities listed below and express your concern about this serious case of abolishing trade unions and depriving the workers and employees of their basic rights of association and bargaining agency. Also urge them to restore the trade union activities in the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ________,

PAKISTAN: Illegal ban of trade unions by the government

I am writing to bring to your urgent attention the illegal and unconstitutional ban of trade unions of an industrial corporation named the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan by the Ministry of Defence Protection of Pakistan on 26 August 2006. This action directly affected about 3,000 workers.

According to the information I have received, on August 26, the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) in Sindh province banned the trade unions of the KSEW, saying that "in light of the notification dated 5 August 2006 that was issued by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Production of federal government of Pakistan, the trade unions of the KSEW ceased to exist until further order".

However, the notification issued by the Ministry of Defence Production of Pakistan on August 5 did not mention anything about the ban on trade union activities, but simply notified that the KSEW, which was a private corporation, became "a public limited company".  I was also informed that the RTU did not issue any notice to trade unions of the KSEW before cancellation of their registrations. Therefore, the said cancellation order was passed without any lawful procedures and therefore gives no lawful authority to the order.

Moreover, the said ban imposed on trade unions of the KSEW is a gross violation of Constitution of Pakistan and supplemental labour laws that guarantees labour rights and the freedom of association. According to Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan, "every citizen has the right to join an association/union." This is also against the freedom of association, the right to association and the right to collective bargaining of the workers that are pertained in ILO convention Nos. 87 and 98. 

I was also informed that this action was taken while the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) was having a series of conciliation meetings with different trade unions of the KSEW to discuss the process of the coming referendum for assertion of collective bargaining agency (CBA), which is required to be held every two years of the term according to labour law. Even though the said notification was issued on August 5, the RTU continued the meeting with the trade unions until the third week of August but suddenly imposed the ban. I suspect that this measure was taken by the government to repress the rights of workers, destroy the collective bargaining agency of the KSEW to weaken union activities in the company. 

I therefore strongly urge you to take immediate action to withdraw the ban imposed trade unions of KSEW and restore the fundamental right of workers to have the collective bargaining agency, who are already marginalised in Pakistan.

I look for your urgent intervention into this matter.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: (please see - http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

2. Mr. Habibullah Waraich
Minister of Defense Protection
Ministry of Defense Protection
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: ++92 51 927 0929, 9270928 or 561-34068
E-mail: minsiter@modp.gov.pk or secretary@modp.gov.pk 

3. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

4. Mr. Muhammad Adil Siddiqui
Minister
Department of Labour, Transport, Industries & Commerce
Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9211980, 9211463

5. Mr. Ishrat-ul- Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh
Governor House Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

6. Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 21 9202000

7. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o J Deriviero
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9177
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION)
 

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)



Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-322-2006
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.