Mian Raza Rabbani, rights activists decry ban on trade unions in PIA

Veteran politician Mian Raza Rabbani, who is currently serving as a Pakistan Peoples Party senator and has also been a former chairman of the Senate, has berated the federal government for its decision to impose the essential service law on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and ban trade unions at the national flag carrier, calling it an ultra-constitutional act which violated the fundamental rights granted by the constitution and committed under the United Nations’ declarations.

“This is simply unacceptable and must be withdrawn immediately,” Rabbani said in a statement released on Saturday. He said such an anti-labour declaration by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government just one day before Labour Day had pushed Pakistan’s working class further in the dark ages.

He alleged that the government’s act of banning trade unions was intended to further the agenda of capitalism.

The senator’s statement was endorsed by civil society organisations and trade union leaders, including National Labour Council Secretary and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) Executive Director Karamat Ali, Asad Iqbal But of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Mehnaz Rahman of the Aurat Foundation, Anis Haroon of the Women Action Forum, Sheema Kermani of the Tehreek-i-Niswan, Liaquat Sahi of the Democratic Workers Federations of State Bank, Habibuddin Junaidi of the Peoples Labour Bureau, Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation, Farhat Parveen of the NOW Communities, Muhammad Ali Shah of the Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum, Punhal Saryo of Sindhi Hari Porhyat Council and others.

The statement said that the dignity of labour was being violated in the national flag carrier as the right to unionise for collective bargaining was a fundamental right of the workers, which was being suppressed through acts like the imposition of the essential services laws.

On the eve of May Day, the federal government gifted the working class of the PIA a draconian law by unnecessarily imposing the Essential Services Act. The trade union activity of the collective bargaining agent (CBA) in the PIA has been suspended and through a letter, the management has unrecognised all the associations, including PALPA, and all working agreements had been terminated, the statement read.

It added that the national flag carrier was now is under the chief executive officer’s rule, which was a classic example of how the management was using the excuse of the coronavirus pandemic to further its anti-trade union agenda.

The labour rights activists maintained that the federal government continued to violate fundamental rights in the Article 17, and Articles 37(e) and 38(a) under the ‘Principles of Policy’ chapter in the 1973 constitution. They called for a constitutional amendment, which would guarantee gainful employment to all the workers and their representation in parliament.

The statement urged the members of parliament to take notice of the federal government’s action and called on the government and political parties to come out of the influence of big businesses and make more laws to strengthen the trade unions, and provide healthcare, old-age benefits and insurance to all the workers. The coronavirus had exposed the poor conditions of labour, the senator and rights activists asserted, adding that it was quite important to strengthen trade unions and provide basic freedoms to mitigate the impact of the lockdown on the workers, rather than reducing their rights.

They demanded that all kinds of contract, bonded and child labour be abolished. The statement read that the government, instead of putting restrictions on the freedom of association, should create a conducive environment for trade unionism in the country.

They also demanded universalisation of the social security and other measures to provide a decent living for all the workers.

Rabbani along with the civil society members also declared that if the essential services law was not withdrawn from the PIA immediately, the labour movements in Pakistan would resist such a move at all the forums.