SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2320gaining. The second provision is an attempt to weaken the power of the federations.This amendment has been challenged by the trade unions and, as a result, has notyet come into force. Late in 1997, the Prime Minister announced the Government’snew investment policy, under which, in order to improve working relations amongemployees and employers, trade union activity would be industry-based and not factory-based.The new policy also decrees that, in order to check the growth of tradeunions, unions receiving less than 20 percent of the votes in a referendum are tobe dissolved automatically and their registrations canceled. No action has beentaken to implement these elements of the investment policy.The ILO has stated repeatedly that current law and practice violate the Government’scommitments under ILO Convention 87. The ILO has urged the Governmentto lift prohibitions against union activity with respect to teachers, radio, television,railway, forestry, hospital, banking, and other Government employees, as well as torescind the existing ban on strikes. The ILO also expressed concern about the practiceof artificial promotions that exclude workers from the purview of Convention111. In response to a Government request, the ILO has provided technical assistanceto help bring the country’s labor laws into conformity with the ILO’s conventions.However, no legislative remedies have been applied.In 1994 a government task force on labor recommended improvements on workerrights problems, which formed the basis for the development of a new governmentlabor policy. The Government has not approved the new policy; however, it has implementedtwo components of the proposed policy: 1) improvements in the workers’welfare fund; and 2) increases in social security benefits for workers. Federationsare free to affiliate with international federations and confederations. Pakistanitrade unions belong to the ICFTU and to secretariats affiliated with the ICFTU.The United States revoked generalized system of preferences (GSP) trade benefitsin 1996 for failure to make progress on worker rights issues.b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.—The right of industrial workersto organize and freely elect representatives to act as collective bargaining agentsis established in law. The IRO prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers.Under the law, private employers are required to reinstate workers fired for unionactivities. However, in practice, such redress has not been available to workers, becauseworkers usually do not pursue redress through the courts due to the fact thatthe legal system is normally slow, prohibitively expensive, and sometimes corrupt.In general, legal unions have the right to bargain collectively. However, the manyrestrictions on forming unions (see Section 6.a.) preclude collective bargaining bylarge sections of the labor force like agricultural workers who are not provided withthe right to strike, bargain collectively, or make demands on employers. The NationalBank of Pakistan Employees Union filed suit against the Government for implementinga banking companies ordinance that prohibited union activities in banksduring working hours and allowed only current bank employees to serve as banktrade union officials. Labor unions report that workers are given artificial promotions(such as a new title with no salary increase) to make them ineligible forunion membership. This practice is prevalent in the financial sector, particularlyamong foreign banks.The ESMA also restricts collective bargaining. For each industry subject to theESMA (see Section 6.a.), the Government must make a finding, renewable every 6months, on the limits of union activity. In cases in which the Government prohibitscollective bargaining, special wage boards decide wage levels.The boards are established at the provincial level and are composed of representativesfrom industry, labor, and the provincial labor ministry, which provides thechairman. Despite the presence of labor representatives, unions generally are dissatisfiedwith the boards’ findings. Disputes are adjudicated before the National IndustrialRelations Commission. A worker’s right to quit also may be curtailed under theESMA. Dismissed workers have no recourse to the labor courts.The ESMA exempts export promotion zones (EPZ’s) from the IRO’s granting ofworkers the right to form trade unions. There is only one EPZ, in Karachi, withnearly 6,000 employees, according to government sources. In 1996 the Cabinet decidedto withdraw these exemptions beginning in January 2000. However, the Governmenthas stated that it will honor agreements with investors regarding the exemptions,making it unlikely that the EPZ’s exemption will be lifted before 2001.c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.—The suspended Constitution andthe law prohibited forced labor, including forced labor by children; however, theGovernment does not enforce these prohibitions effectively. Critics argue that theESMA’s limitation on worker rights, especially the right to quit, constitutes a formof compulsory labor. The ILO has objected to this violation of Convention 29. TheGovernment has responded that the maintenance of essential services is requiredfor the defense and security of the country, and that continued reviews have limitedVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00164 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1