Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO324, March 2001

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 70. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2000 meeting [see 323rd Report, paras. 408-430] on which occasion it made the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee notes that the ban on trade union activities in the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has now been lifted.
   • (b) The Committee once again requests the Government to ensure that the practice of deducting trade union dues is resumed without delay in WAPDA. It asks the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard.
   • (c) Reiterating the principle that recourse to measures of suspension or dissolution of trade union organizations through administrative channels constitutes a clear violation of Article 4 of Convention No. 87, the Committee once again requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the appeal filed by the Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Central Labour Union to the Lahore High Court against the decision of the Deputy Registrar to cancel its registration.
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to confirm that the ban on trade union activities in KESC which was to continue until 31 October has now been lifted and that the workers' trade union rights have now been restored. It further urges the Government to restore the collective bargaining rights of KESC workers without delay and requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard.
   • (e) The Committee requests the Government to take the appropriate measures to ensure that the rights of the Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Central Labour Union and the KESC Democratic Mazdoor Union, respectively, as collective bargaining agents (CBAs) are restored to them without delay. It asks the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard.
   • (f) The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in respect of the WAPDA and KESC union officials who were forcibly retired.
2. 71. In a communication dated 3 January 2001, the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU) indicates that: (i) the trade union rights of WAPDA workers have been restored by Presidential Ordinance No. XXVII of 2000; (ii) the registration and the legal status as "collective bargaining agent" of the WAPDA union has been restored by a judgement of 3 August 2000 pronounced by the National Industrial Relations Commission of Pakistan; (iii) the facility of check-off to the said union has been restored by WAPDA management on 30 August 2000. The Committee takes note of this information with interest.
3. 72. With regard to the other pending issues related to this case, the Committee requests once again the Government to confirm that the ban on trade union activities in the Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) has now been lifted and that the workers' trade union rights have now been restored. It further urges the Government to take the appropriate measures to ensure that the rights of the KESC Democratic Mazdoor Union as collective bargaining agents are restored without delay. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in respect of the WAPDA and KESC union officials who were forcibly retired.