NA passes Industrial Relations Bill

The bill, on becoming law after the President’s signatures, will ensure more rights to labourers as members foresaw better industrial and economic developmen.The bill was moved by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member Qamar Zaman Kaira after the House suspended the rules to take up this important bill.The opposition parties did not raise any objection on the bill and passed it unanimously. The bill will ensure protection to the rights of workers and promote trade union culture.The bill has an input of all political parties and was discussed with stakeholders prior to its introduction in the Senate.The Senate has already passed the bill during its last session of the parliamentary year. The members had unanimity of thought that the bill will pave way towards better rights to workers and contribute towards better relations between the employers and the employees as well as industrial growth in the country.Pakistan has ratified ILO Convention no 87 on Freedom of Association and Convention no 98 on Right to organize and collective bargaining. This law will also help consolidate and rationalise the law relating to formation of trade unions and federations of trade unions, determining the collective bargaining agents, regulation of relations between employers and workers, the avoidance and settlement of any differences or disputes arising between them or matters connected therewith and ancillary thereto.However, the bill shall not be applicable to (i) Police, (ii) Defense Services or installations connected to Armed Forces; in the administration of State other than those employed as workmen; (iii) on the members of the security staff of the Pakistan International Airlines or drawing wages in pay group not lower than group V; and (iv) at Pakistan Security Printing Corporation or the Security Papers Limited and by an establishment or institution for the treatment or care of sick, infirm, destitute or mentally unfit persons excluding those being run on commercial basis.On passage of the bill, Chief Whip in National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah thanked all the parties in the House for supporting the bill and congratulated the members for their contribution.He spoke highly of the Senate and especially Senator Raza Rabbani for manufacturing this bill and its passage from the Upper House to fulfill the desire of 50 million laborers in the country.Former Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and MNA Sumsam Bokhari also congratulated all political parties on passage of the bill. “When we were in opposition and the bill was passed, we had termed it a “black law,” Kaira said and added, now after passage of IRA we have not only fulfilled another dream of Benazir Bhutto but also the desire of labourers of the country.