PAKISTAN has ratified 36 conventions of the International Labour Organisation, with two of them relating to the formation of unions and collective bargaining bodies agents. As the unions of Pakistan Railways and Karachi Port Trust were active during Partition, Pakistan ratified these conventions at its inception. The Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No 87), was ratified in February 1951, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No 98), in May 1952.

The left-wing trade unions spearheaded the country’s labour movement with the Pakistan Railways’ United Union of Railway Workers, led by prominent union leader M.A. Khan. However, it was Mirza Muhammad Ibrahim, the chief of the Pakistan Trade Union Federation and Railway Workers Union, who, through the railway workshops in Lahore, chalked out a new direction. Moreover, a large majority of railway workers considered Ibrahim a powerful voice and champion of their cause.

The Karachi Port Trust also had established trade unions, which along with the Pakistan Trade Union Federation and leftist unions, were central to shaping Pakistan’s labour movement. But the government was averse to the left-leaning unions. In 1969, the Industrial Relations Ordinance defined the formation and registration of trade unions, code of conduct, referendum for the Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA), industrial disputes settlement, unfair labour practices for workers and employers, and redressal of workers’ grievances, with councils and access to labour courts. Former air force chief Nur Khan is to be credited for an effective labour policy that provided guidance to employers and unions.

HR personnel today are clueless about labour laws.

The Ordinance’s enforcement coincided with the formation of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s PPP, which included improved conditions for peasants and workers in its manifesto. After elections in 1970, Bhutto’s government, with the inclusion of a management committee and joint management board, amended the 1969 Ordinance substantially. These forums provided equal representation to CBA nominees and candidates chosen by employers in formulating policies for workers.

But the CBA’s interference in the affairs of the administrations in factories and businesses grew so rampant that the employers had to hire dedicated managers for industrial relations as interactions often turned violent. As most CBAs were affiliated with national labour federations, the managers assisted them with guidance in negotiating with the employers. Management training institutes would conduct workshops in labour laws and industrial relations. In fact, the managements of the two fertiliser plants in Daharki and Sadiqabad also asked me to organise workshops for their management staff.

After the fall of the PPP government in July 1977, trade union activities subsided. But employers were still cautious about labour laws being breached. Although this situation continued till 2015, the human resource departments of companies did not think it necessary to either employ industrial relations managers or become conversant with labour laws. While labour laws still exist, their implementation in organisations is nonexistent to the extent that human resource personnel are not familiar with relevant regulations, nor are they aware of any developments in this sphere.

Sadly, the training institutes have discontinued their workshops because organisations don’t send participants anymore. As a consequence, when confronted with issues relating to the application or interpretation of labour laws, human resource officials are clueless about the le­­galities of negotiating for a suitable settlement or finding solutions to the points of contention. Referring to laws and clauses is a challenge for them.

For instance, there are three different statutes on the subject of wages. One is the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, which primarily defines the components of payments made by an employer to employees to constitute ‘wages’ and regulates remunerations.

In addition, it permits certain deductions from the salary of an employee as well as ensures that the employees are not unfairly deprived of their earnings.

The other two enactments are the Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1961, which sets the minimum wage for all categories of employees, and the Unskilled Workers Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1969, for unskilled workers. Hence, to overcome the learning gaps mentioned above, human resource departments must ensure that their personnel acquire at least basic knowledge of the more prominent labour laws for harmony and justice in the workplace.

The writer is a consultant in human resources at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2025