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31 January, 2011
The ICEM’s affiliate in Pakistan, the Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers (PCEM), is fighting against severe breaches of workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively at the Swiss-based agri-chemicals multinational, Syngenta.
On 23 December, members of the Syngenta Employees Union Pakistan, belonging to PCEM, arrived at work to find announcement in the company newspaper that their union’s General Secretary had his employment terminated as of 22 December, with no justified reason given. Brother Imran Ali, who is also the President of the national union PCEM, had no warning prior to learning the news in the “Daily Jang” newspaper.
In a letter to the Chairman and CEO of the global pesticide producer Syngenta, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda condemned the flagrant breach of conduct of local management as a clear attempt to dismantle the union. Warda highlighted the commitments of Sygenta in the company’s Code of Conduct, and also in their signatory status to the Global Compact. See the full letter here.
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
Prior to Mr. Imran’s sacking, he was summoned to the human resources department, where he was told by Mushir Ahmed Jaffery, personnel manager, Syed Saad Khalil, manager for Information Services, Col. Jalal, head of Security, and Rizwana Mujeeb, head of human resources, to sign a blank paper. When İmran refused, he was threatened with bad consequences if he refused to withdraw from his trade union activities.
Imran, as labor union president, was about to submit a draft collective agreement which would have been effective as of 1 January 2011.
Later in the same day that he was sacked, 23 December, the head of Syngenta’s security in Pakistan, Jalal, a retired military officer in Pakistan, met with 50 union members who had worked at the company on temporary contracts and filed cases at the Labour Court for permanent employee status. Jalal threatened and intimidated the workers to withdraw their legal petitions and resign from Syngenta. One of those workers, Muhammad Nadeem, a diabetic and heart patient, suddenly died of a heart attack on 24 December, as a direct result of this pressure from management.
Those workers had received the support of the Labour Court on 18 December, which declared in favour of their grievance petitions, entitling them to permanent employment immediately. Syngenta Pakistan management refused to acknowledge the judgement of the Labour Court.
The company management’s refusal to consider the collective bargaining agreement, continued on 28 December as Jalal called in paramilitary forces to the Syngenta plant and threatened workers not to support the agreement or the union. Instead, he told them to join a yellow union, otherwise management would outsource the production unit and sack all current employees. The workers refused.
The company responded to ICEM allegations saying that they had acted within the law and without regret. Brother Imran Ali is still awaiting reinstatement in his job, but with no indication from management that this will happen.
The ICEM demands the full reinstatement of Imran, with full back pay and benefits, as well as the lawful recognition of the 50 workers who won their case in the Labour Court for rights to permanent employment at Syngenta.