Credit goes to Zardari

Credit goes to President Zardari-led PPP government for signing into law the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Bill 2010 in a special ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr. The law is expected to reinstate over 7000 public sector employees, who were targeted on political basis and were removed from service by the previous regimes.
The bill was passed by the National Assembly on October 7, 2010 and Senate on November 10, 2010. In the ceremony, the President said that he is pleased to sign the bill and congratulated all the workers, who have thus been reinstated in their jobs through an act of the Parliament. He also felicitated parliament for passing the law. The President also announced that today he has fulfilled yet another promise and commitment made by the Shaheed leader with the people of Pakistan during her elections campaign.
The main feature of the new law is that it would provide relief to politically-victimised workers, who were removed from government department or from autonomous or semi-autonomous bodies or were given forced handshake during the period from November 1, 1993 to November 30, 1996 and also to those who were dismissed, removed or terminated from service during the period from November 1, 1996 to October 12, 1999. The sacked employees were kicked out from their jobs without being charge sheeted or having served with any show-cause notice. Most of them were from poor families and their very existence was under serious threat due to unexpected sacking and victimisation on political grounds.
The Pakistan Peoples Party PPP-led government announced the reinstatement of employees of various public sector organisations, sacked on political grounds, and after getting elected, it promulgated Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance to reinstate them so that no future government could sack them. After scrutiny of the cases, the government has reinstated 7,000 employees and recommendations for the remaining ones have also been finalised.
"The critics of the present government sometimes accuse it of not providing jobs to the people. Yes, the job market has shrunk due to the world-wide economic slow down and recession. But I ask the critics, is the reinstatement of thousands of sacked employees not giving them jobs," President Asif Zardari said.
The PPP presented a pro-workers manifesto for 2008 general elections that promised restoration of all those rights of the workers that had been usurped during the previous regimes. One of them, which targeted civil servants, was by the introduction of the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance, 2000, which has been repealed by an act in 2010. The PPP-led government realised the negative impact of this ordinance on the public sector organisations' employees as it provided absolute powers to the government with regard to the removal of 'unwanted persons' in government jobs. The government worked with all the political parties in the parliament to repeal this draconian law and finally succeeded in liberating public servants from servitude of individuals and now they are able to work according to their conscience and law of the land, without any fear of victimisation or premature dismissal from service.
The workers and labourers are backbone of the country's economy. From the day of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the PPP has kept welfare of workers and labourers uppermost in its mind. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had promised the sacked employees of different organisations that they would be reinstated into their jobs. The promise of Shaheed Mohtarma has been fulfilled by the PPP government.
The PPP-led government believes in economic progress by giving incentives and has taken a number of measures for economic revival and improvement of economic conditions requires collective effort of all. The policies, being pursued by the government, would help improve economy as well as overall condition of workers by protecting their rights. The election manifesto of the PPP aims at protecting rights of workers creating maximum job opportunities for the people. Security of job is the most significant motivating factor for employees who work hard for economic development and social progress of the country.
The people of Pakistan expect from the present government that it would continue to work for the welfare of the poor and the workers. Through Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme (BESOS), 12% stock shares worth Rs 110 billion have been given to workers of the public sector organisations free of cost, which would make them stakeholders in growth and development of their organisations and would utilise their best abilities to make their units more productive and profitable. More than 500,000 employees of 80 public organisations will benefit from it by becoming shareholders in organisations.
The BESOS is the first ever initiative in Pakistan's history through which the workers will not only get shares in the state institutions, but would also be provided due representation in the respective board of directors. It will encourage the stakeholders to take decisions for the betterment of institutions. The BESOS is an incentive for the workers to work hard and produce more. It is both a scheme to improve workers welfare as well as the economy, making both workers and employers as partners in overall economic development.
Yet another feather in the cap of the present government is the decision to distribute free of charge state land among poor women in the command areas of new dams that are being built across the country. These poor and needy women will be provided easy credit to cultivate these lands, which will bring them in the loop of development. Benazir Income Support Programme is yet another initiative to alleviate poverty and also to empower the women and would continue its forward march.
The PPP government is working hard to provide basic facilities to the poor people of Pakistan. This is exactly as per the aspirations and the philosophy of Shaheed Zulfikar Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The PPP workers and leaders gave sacrifices and Benazir Bhutto offered her own life for the cause of the people of Pakistan. The party's slogan of "Roti, Kapra Aur Makan" is still relevant. President Zardari is following the philosophy of the Shaheed leaders by giving shares to workers in industrial units. Representatives of workers will be given seats in boards of industries. Credit goes to the PPP-led government for ending anti-worker laws made by previous regimes to throw out thousands of workers. The government confirmed 150,000 workers in PIA, Wapda, Steel Mills, KPT and other departments by giving them security of jobs.
We may not forget that one of the first steps that the government has taken is to discard restrictions on the trade unions through the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002. The PPP-led government removed these restrictions through the Industrial Relations Act, 2008, under which the Labour Appellelate Tribunals have also been revived on the persistent demand of the trade unions and federations in order to ensure the speedy disposal of labour disputes. Through an amendment in the Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 2010, the government has restored the rights of workers of public sector entities to approach the labour courts, labour appellate tribunals and the National Industrial Relations Commission.
Labour leaders have welcomed the repeal of Section 2A of this anti-labour law that had confiscated their right to approach the labour courts and tribunals. Moreover, the repeal of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002 in the enactment of Industrial relations Act, 2008, has regulated the government's vision on the dignity of labour, elimination of animosity and antagonism by fostering a trust relationship between the employer, employee and promoting social dialogue in the law.
The other pro-workers measures taken by the government are the initiation of Benazir Green Tractors Scheme for the small farmers, the National internship programme, the minimum wage of unskilled workers has been increased, ceiling from the social security benefits also enhanced while the scope of Workers Welfare Fund extended to include the workers of commercial and services sectors also in addition to the industrial workers as well as regularising all the contract employees in Basic Pay Scale BPS 1-15 in order to provide job security to the large number of low-paid employees in the country. It also goes to the credit of the people's government that it has enhanced the salaries of the government employees during the last two years. I believe that all these steps will ultimately result in the betterment of the lives of the poorest of the poor and they will be able to support their families.