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14 November, 2024IndustriALL is calling on IFFCO Pakistan to respect workers’ rights and immediately implement the Supreme Court order, passed on 4 April 2024, that granted 55 contract workers of IFFCO, the status of permanent workers.
After almost a decade since the first petition was filed, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favour of the IFFCO contract workers on 4 April 2024. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the National Industrial Relation Commission (NIRC) Karachi, passed in 2020, in a case filed by 90 IFFCO contract workers against unfair labour practices and violation of workers’ right to freedom of association.
NIRC had ordered that ‘workers were being deprived of statutory benefits of employments as available to the other employees who become members of the CBA union, and that they are neither permitted to join the CBA union nor are they provided facilities/ benefits at par with the CBA members, although the nature of job/duties are same and they are being treated unfairly’.
The company was directed to pay PKR30,000 (US$ 108) as a penalty to each worker, reinstate the workers and pay back wages.
Instead of implementing the court’s decision, the IFFCO management appealed to the Supreme Court to revise the order. On 16 October, the Supreme Court dismissed the IFFCO’s petition while upholding its earlier order from 4 April 2024.
IndustriALL’s affiliate, Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union (PCEM) informed that last month, on 23 October, when 45 workers reported to the IFFCO plant, they were denied entry and instead taken by armed security personnel to an inactive IFFCO facility. The workers were confined to a room at the inactive site, with no work assigned to them.
Subsequently, on 1 November, management issued a notice instructing the same workers to report to the other plant immediately, warning that failure to do so would result in being marked absent. However, when the workers returned to the specified plant, they were forcibly removed once again. Additionally, one of PCEM’s office bearers has also received threats from management.
Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary, says:
“We urge IFFCO Pakistan to immediately intervene in the matter. The company must uphold the Supreme Court’s decision by reinstating these workers and issuing them formal letters of joining.”