Government should prepare a plan to provide jobs to 20 million unemployed youths and it should withdraw amendments in factory act which would increase the unemployment as all industrialists would end one shift in their factories and they would force the workers to do work in two shifts.
It was stated at a Labour Conference jointly organised by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and the Labour Education Foundation (LEF) recently.
The speakers Comrade Jamal Boota, M. Farooq Khan, Yousaf Baloch, Mueen Nawaz Baloch, Khalid Malik, Taj Muhammad Souz, Ahsan Khan and Suhail Javed rejected the amendments to the Factory Act, Industrial Relation Ordinance 2002, Removal from Service Ordinance 2000, other laws introduced in the Finance Bill 2006 and the 12-hour workday for the workers.
They demanded for revising the minimum wages and pay scales keeping in view the rate of inflation, price hike, and an increase in utility bills. They also rejected the privatisation process which had added to the unemployment in the country and they opposed the privatisation of departments and organisation of Public interest like Railway, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Pakistan International Airline (PIA), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), etc to save the country from Sugar & cement like crises.
They demanded the government repeal the "tyrannical and labour killer" Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 and reinstate the IRO 1969, saying that the IRO 2002 was against fundamental rights of the citizens. They said that there was no concept of bonded or forced labour in the world but it was being promoted in Pakistan.
Kiln owners, millers and landlords have bonded labour violating the ILO charter. They said forced labour had not been completely eliminated, as embodied in the ILO conventions 29 and 105 and despite its ratification by the Pakistan government decades ago.
"Both employers and policymakers are increasingly becoming intolerant of trade unions," he said.
The conference adopted resolutions demanding the government increase workers' wages, withdraw increased commodity rates, bring the private education institutions under labour laws, prepare solid plans for jobless youths, withdraw utility bills' increased tariff, stop the privatisation of power, gas, railways, Pakistan Steel Mills and other important departments, stop increasing petroleum prices, lift the ban on trade unions, etc.
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