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24 January, 2000Following a complaint lodged with the Geneva-based labour organisation, Pakistani workers hope to see the restoration of their workplace rights.
PAKISTAN: The ICFTU Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation says that according to newspaper reports the government of Pakistan has received a warning from the International Labour Organisation concerning this country's violation of workers' rights to freedom of association (Convention No. 87) and collective bargaining (Convention No. 98). The ILO reportedly stated that if Pakistan does not restore these rights, including those of the workers at the Water And Power Development Authority (WAPDA), by May 2000, the Geneva-based organisation will request that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund suspend assistance to Pakistan.
The IMF-affiliated All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU) lodged a complaint with the ILO in February 1999, upon which the ILO Experts' Committee has apparently recommended the ILO Governing Body approve a six-point indictment against the government and deplore the violation of basic workers' rights. It has also urged the immediate withdrawal of Ordinance No. XX, promulgated in 1998, which banned the trade union rights and activities of the more than 100,000 WAPDA workers, who are members of the APFTU. The ILO Experts' Committee observed that the situation in WAPDA was created primarily due to poor management.
The IMF-affiliated All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU) lodged a complaint with the ILO in February 1999, upon which the ILO Experts' Committee has apparently recommended the ILO Governing Body approve a six-point indictment against the government and deplore the violation of basic workers' rights. It has also urged the immediate withdrawal of Ordinance No. XX, promulgated in 1998, which banned the trade union rights and activities of the more than 100,000 WAPDA workers, who are members of the APFTU. The ILO Experts' Committee observed that the situation in WAPDA was created primarily due to poor management.