Industrial relations fiasco - II

Political parties and the Government have a role to play in ensuring that labour wing or labour bureau of any political party should be discouraged and not permitted to interfere in labour matters. Labour problems should be settled within the law. Let an announcement, in good faith, be made by the Government that there is intent to ameliorate the conditions of service of the workers. This can only be done keeping in view the larger national interest.
The object of labour law is to help the growth and progress of national economy and it is with that ultimate object that industrial dispute, if any are to be settled on the principle of fair play and justice. National interest at all given point of time, should be at the foremost even at the cost of political manifestos.
Very recently yet another fiasco of the Government was noticed in the manner in which labour unrest in Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Ltd was handled. Needless to mention "Etisalat" according to Moody's Investigator's Service has strong credit rating and is amongst highest of all global rated Telecommunications Companies. It has a flair to provide strong and growing cash-flows.
If recent memory do not fade, the previous Government went out of way in Privatization of PTCL to "Etisalat". No doubt if privatization is effected then "due diligence" is to be effected. Unfortunately it has been observed that "due diligence" on labour matters is neither undertaken by companies entering the ring for privatization nor by the Privatization Commission of Pakistan. Privatization, in all fairness, should be with clean hands.
All information pertaining to the companies to be privatized be provided to avoid any future labour unrest. It is suggested that any future sale to be made under Privatization Commission, it should necessarily ensure that a survey on labour matters in relation to the industry to be privatized is conducted. Areas where the new stake holders may face labour problems has to be identified and it should be circulated amongst the prospective bidders.
This may discourage certain bidders from entering the ring but this will help avoid labour unrest in the long run. At the same time, our brotherly and friendly people from the Middle East, who have helped the people of Pakistan in our hour of National crisis both economically and otherwise, must realize that if they invest abroad they have to comply with the law of the land where such investments are made.
Every individual institution interested in entering the ring of prospective bidders must undertake due diligence on labour matters, which identify the problems they are liable to face and thereafter take a decision so as to opt for privatization. The recent labour unrest in PTCL now requires to be examined. It is alleged that PTCL introduced UPS (Uniform Pay Scales) in a very arbitrary manner. If this was so then this was a mistake on the part of PTCL.
If the existing pay scales were not workable or manageable, PTCL instead of unilaterally introducing their own unified pay scale should have raised industrial dispute and had the same adjudicated from the Court of law, in the instant case National Industrial Relations Commission.
The workers on their part, instead of resorting to illegal strikes, could have approached the court of law to obtain injunction against such UPS (Uniform Pay Scales). Legal and constitutional avenue should have been adopted. Just as workers have their grievances and demands, much in the same way employers also have their own grievances and demands.
It is not known, why the Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, immediately when the labour unrest was brewing in PTCL did not intervene and in accordance with the provisions of Section 49 (4) (a) of Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002, refer the demands both of the union and the workers of PTCL and the Management of PTCL to the National Industrial Relations Commission for adjudication being a matter of national importance.
In such a situation, illegal strike could have been avoided in the PTCL and within the framework of law the grievances and demands both of the workers and employers could have been resolved. Thus wrong message to prospective bidder in future privatization could have been avoided.
Instead the Government and the cabinet constituted a committee, and for the time being, atleast, not only compelled PTCL Management to withdraw Unified Pay Scale, but also gave 35 percent rise in salaries and all NCPG employees have been regularized. In spite of massive unemployment in this country, the superannuation age has been raised to 60 years.
No doubt its immediate effect has lead to calling off strike, but a very unfortunate message has been given to employees in the other sectors and a wrong precedent set, that with resort to illegal strike, disruption of work and production, locking of the main gates, non-performance of work and resort to brute force alone, demands of the workers could be met.
This will lead to chaos and confusion with no respect for rule of law. Already announcement has been made in the Parliament, without realizing its implications, that IRO 2002 has been repealed. There is nothing to prevent employees in other sectors, more particularly privatized bank from resorting to such coercive means for achieving their demands.
If labour unrest are to be resolved in the way PTCL issue was dealt, let Government announce policy of disbanding of National Industrial Relations Commission, labour courts and other judicial institutions, as also repeal Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002, which is aimed at peaceful resolution to labour disputes, and settle labour matters based on political expediency.
It is not in the interest of the Government to further promote this unfortunate fiasco or to have it repeated again in other sectors. Let the rule of law prevail in this country and let industrial peace and harmony prevail. Allow courts of law to function within the ambit of law, and insist on the directorate of labour welfare in all the four provinces to ensure implementation of labour laws already in force.
Let a moratorium on further strikes or lockouts at least for two years be announced voluntarily by all stakeholders. Even the process of further privatization will be retarded. This will be a sorry state of affairs. As a well-wisher of the Government, which has inherited a mess of ten years of the past, let a careful decision on industrial relations be made.
The Government of Pakistan had announced to regularize all contractual employees of Government organisations. This was a political decision. Taking clue, now employees of the private sector have also started demanding that contractual employees should also be regularized. This is unfair to the private sector. The Government has introduced earlier, a new concept of contract labour in the classification of workmen.
Labour laws are not applicable to Government employees. However, they are applicable to private sector industrial and commercial employees. Before making any political announcement pertaining to labour, a very calculated announcement is imperative so as to ensure that the decision of the Government in relation to employees in Government organizations are based on certain circumstances, which are not necessarily available in relation to private sector employees.
If privatization is to succeed in this country, and if private sector is to flourish, then the Government must ensure that their announcement is not based on political expediency, as its snow ball effects are created in the private sector.
A very careful and calculated announcement must precede Government announcement for employees in Government organization, for such benefits are conferred and confined to peculiar situation in Government organization and across the board.
WILLIAM GOODWIN (1756-1836), IN ENQUIRY CONCERNING POLITICAL JUSTICE, 1798 VOL-2, BK VI, CH.1 HAS APTLY REMARKED:
"Commerce never really flourishes so much as when it is delivered from the guardianship of Legislature and Ministers" It is, therefore, suggested in longer national interest that the following timely measures, for future, be taken by the Government of Pakistan to avoid fiasco and labour unrest in the country.
a) Government of Pakistan should announce, in no uncertain terms, that lock out by employers or strikes by workers will not be encouraged and that there will be industrial truce and moratorium on strikes and lock outs for at least two years. This is no violation of constitution or fundamental right.
b) Government must direct the labour courts and request the High Court to grant top priority to labour cases and ensure backlog of labour cases both in the labour court and in the High Court are decided on priority basis.
c) Government should make it clear that till the new law is promulgated IRO 2002 shall govern the relations between employers and workers. All Employers' Association and Federations and Trade bodies and all the Workers Federations and individual unions be called upon to make concrete proposals in writing and submit the same to the Federal Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis for specific amendments in various labour legislations, giving reasons and grounds for such amendments.
Once this process is completed a Tripartite Labour Conference be convened and based on the unanimous decision, labour laws be amended.
d) That any proposal aimed at introducing Industrial Relations Act 2008, unilaterally and without taking the point of few of the employers and workers should be shelved as this will breed further labour unrest in the country.
e) It should be made clear to the workers in the banking sector that under no circumstances, provisions of Section 27(b) of the Banking Companies Ordinance will be shelved. However, proposals for amendments in the law would be welcome and given due consideration.
f) Workers should be made clear that demands for reinstatement of employees whose cases have already been decided against them by the labour courts, High Courts as also the apex court cannot be reopened being past and closed matter. If on political ground it is deemed necessary such persons be absorbed in state-owned banks like State Bank of Pakistan or National Bank of Pakistan.
g) That Government of Pakistan in relation to already privatized institution should not directly interfere and impose their pressure on the privatized employer as this will discourage future privatization in the country.
h) That Federal Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis should be handled by persons well conversant with the labour laws who should give suggestions to the Federal Minister of Labour and the secretary labour aimed at avoiding labour unrest, strikes. Locking of the gates of either of the banks or financial institutions and other national assets as a means to pressurize employers for acceptance of their demands be avoided. Instead, government should encourage reference to the National Industrial Relations Commission being matters of "national importance" for adjudication of the demands.
In the past reference was made by the federal government of industrial disputes in the case of Karachi Port Trust, Southern Sui Gas Co Ltd, Karachi Electric Supply Company Ltd, Ghazi Barothra Project all aimed at, what is termed in America terminology as a "cooling period".
The labour leaders should ensure that they have faith in our judiciary and without unnecessary adjournments and within a short period, but within the ambit of existing law, the disputes are resolved in legal and constitutional manner, subject of course to right of appeal.
Interference by the federal government or the cabinet as was done in the case of PTCL should be avoided. After all the present management of PTCL and the Government of UAE has done more than a favour to Pakistan by not demanding, our government to take over PTCL and return back billions of dollars they have given against privatization.
i) The Privatization Commission on their part should ensure that it exercises due diligence on labour matters and in all fairness prepare a working paper to be distributed amongst all the stake holders and bidders in the ring who should be made known as to the actual state of affairs existing in the industry so that Government is not made thereafter to interfere in privatized institutions.
The Privatization Commission should not only identify possible areas where labour unrest can be created but should even suggest, in the working paper possibly legal and remedial measures they can adopt. Even the ambit and scope of the existing Industrial Relations Law should be asked to be followed and caution the stake holders, that the law of the land have to be complied with and within the framework of the law, labour unrest should be avoided.
j) The National Industrial Relation Commission constituted under I.R.O. 2002 has also advisory role. It has suo moto powers to interfere in threatened illegal lockouts and strike and pass appropriate prohibitory orders in exercise of its suo moto powers. This institution has been set up on tax payers money. It should act promptly and effectively.
It is recalled that when the workers of Sui Southern Gas Company had threatened illegal strike, Justice Dr Ibrahim Mahmud, Chairman, NIRC had passed an order, at his house, at 6.00 pm on 25th December, a public holiday at Karachi prohibiting strike in Sui Southern Gas Company in Sindh and Balochistan and ordered publication of such prohibition order in all national dailies and even directed publicity of such order to be telecast in Pakistan Television news at 9.00 pm, which was done.
The illegal strike in Sui Southern Gas Co was thus averted. It is regretted our newly appointed worthy chairman of NIRC was not duly and promptly informed of this fact and the exercise of suo moto powers was not exercised which made judicial interference not possible and resulted in labour unrest in PTCL.
(Concluded)
(The writer is Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan)