Hundreds of employees working in federal government departments and state-run corporations such as Utility Stores, Postal services, Banks, Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC), Wapda and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) on Saturday staged a demonstration against the shifting of their cases to the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC).
The protest, held in front of the Multan Labour Court No9, was led by renowned trade unionist Ashfaq Ahmed Khan. The protesters called for trials in labour courts. Representatives of protesters told reporters that they could not afford to join proceedings in Islamabad or hire lawyers over there to contest their cases. Briefing media persons, Ashfaq Ahmed Khan said that labour courts were empowered to hear all cases relating to labour conflict resolution.
He said that the previous government had amended Section 2-A of the Service Tribunal Act of 1973, transferring all cases of employees of federal government departments and state-run corporation to the Federal Services Tribunal. He reminded that the Supreme Court had, in 2006, declared this amendment ultra-vires and instructed the government to return all such cases to labour courts.
After the 18th Amendment, he said, the federal government had introduced the Industrial Act of 2012 under which all cases relating to federal government departments and autonomous or semi-autonomous corporations were to be heard by NIRC without amending the Industrial and Commercial Ordinance, 1968 (which is procedural law). Subsequently, an ambiguity had developed whether plaintiffs would have to file fresh cases in NIRC, or labour courts would transfer these cases to the commission.