SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2319portedly spared the two Muslim passengers on the bus. Initially police officialsurged the girls to report that they were robbed, not raped; however, when the CLFcomplained to government officials, the officials immediately registered the cases asrape cases, arrested three suspects, and promised to investigate police behavior. Thesuspects were charged under the Hudood Ordinances and were scheduled to standtrial in September. One of the suspects was released for lack of evidence; howeverthe other two cases had not been tried by year’s end.There are restrictions on certain testimony in court by non-Muslims (see Section1.e.).Although there are few Jewish citizens, anti-Semitic sentiments appear to bewidespread, and anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist press articles are common.Section 6. Worker Rightsa. The Right of Association.—The Industrial Relations Ordinance of 1969 (IRO)permits industrial workers to form trade unions subject to major restrictions insome employment areas. The Essential Services Maintenance Act of 1952 (ESMA)covers the state administration, government services, and state enterprises like oiland gas production, electricity generation and transmission, the state-owned airline,and ports. Workers in these sectors are allowed to form unions. However, the ESMAsharply restricts normal union activities, usually prohibiting, for example, the rightto strike in affected organizations. A worker’s right to quit also may be curtailedunder the ESMA. For each industry subject to the ESMA, the Government mustmake a finding, renewable every six months, on the limits of union activity. Thereis no provision allowing agricultural workers or teachers to unionize as they are notdefined as ‘‘an industry.’’ A presidential ordinance in 1998 banned all union activityin the water and power development authority (employing 130,000 workers) for 2years. Following a 3-day conference on employment protection, human resource development,and industrial relations sponsored by the Musharraf Government andthe ILO in May, the Government on July 17 passed an ordinance permitting waterand power workers to engage in ‘‘responsible trade unionism.’’Other restrictions on union activities include the Anti-terrorist Ordinance of 1999(ATO). The ATO codified the crime of a ‘‘terrorist act,’’ which includes ‘‘an act ofcivil commotion.’’ Such acts are punishable by imprisonment of 7 years to life, aswell as fines. ‘‘Civil commotion’’ includes illegal strikes, go-slows, and lockouts.Under the original ordinance, those distributing, publishing, or pasting a handbillor making graffiti or wall-chalking ‘‘intended to create unrest’’ were subject to arrest.According to the ILO, this ordinance prevented leafleting, posters, or evenword-of-mouth notices of public meetings. In late 1999, the ATO was amended toeliminate references to handbills, graffiti, or the intent to create civil commotion(see Sections 1.e and 2.b.). According to government estimates, union membersmake up about 10 percent of the industrial labor force and 3 percent of the totalestimated work force. Unions claim that the number of union members is underestimated.Contract labor continues to flourish, undercutting the power of the unionsand exploiting workers who are willing to work on temporary contracts with fewerbenefits and no job security.Legally required conciliation proceedings and cooling-off periods constrain theright to strike, as does the Government’s authority to ban any strike that may cause‘‘serious hardship to the community’’ or prejudice the national interest. The Governmentalso may ban a strike that has continued for 30 days. Strikes are rare. Whenthey occur, they usually are illegal and short. The Government regards as illegalany strike conducted by workers who are not members of a legally registered union.Police do not hesitate to crack down on worker demonstrations. The law prohibitsemployers from seeking retribution against leaders of a legal strike and stipulatescriminal penalties for offenders. The courts may imprison employers for violatingthis prohibition, but they are more likely to fine them. The law does not protectleaders of illegal strikes. In May and June, there were strikes by small and largebusinessmen throughout the country to protest the Government’s efforts to collecttaxes. In May there was a 3-day strike by religious leaders against GeneralMusharraf’s proposed modification of the blasphemy law (see Section 2.b.).Unions may belong to federations, and there are eight major federations. The Governmentpermits trade unions across the political spectrum. While many unions remainaloof from politics, some are associated with political parties. Unions associatedwith opposition parties are allowed to carry on their activities freely.In 1997 the Cabinet passed an amendment to the IRO which states that: 1) onlyemployees of the represented industry can hold office in a trade union; and 2) iftrade unions form a federation, the federation cannot bargain with individual employers;each component union has to bargain for itself. The first provision disadvantagessmaller unions, which may not have enough officers capable of bar-VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00163 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1