COSATU statement on Pakistan 10-09-07

 

COSATU statement on Pakistan

The Congress of South African Trade Unions notes the attempt by the USA's staunch ally - Pakistan's military dictator General Pervez Musharraf - to create the impression that he is about to return the country to democratic rule.

The same US administration that hypocritically condemns dictators who fail to act in their economic interests, first condoned and then endorsed Musharraf's violent and illegal seizure of power. Now it is now helping him to make his regime look respectable and democratic.

He is preparing to submit himself for election, but without abandoning his position as head of the armed forces until after he is elected, implying that if not elected he will remain as the military dictator and will continue to play the role of George W Bush's policeman in Asia.

For the workers of Pakistan, Musharrif's rule has been disastrous. As the International Trade Union Confederation's Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights 2007 reveals: "Pakistan's highly restrictive labour laws, combined with a near total lack of law enforcement, permitted unmitigated attacks by employers and state enterprises managers against trade union rights.

" Despite standing promises to the ILO, the government made no progress in amending its laws to bring them into compliance with international standards and continued to exclude workers in many economic sectors from exercising their rights. The Sindh provincial government outlawed unions for teachers, and several state enterprises and military controlled companies continued to bar unions."

ITUC backs this up with numerous examples of the regime flouting trade union legal rights that are supposed to be enshrined in the constitution.

The 2002 Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO) only covers industrial workers and those producing goods or services for sale. So workers in the railways, ports, security printing facilities, oil and gas industries, post and telecommunications, the Pakistan Television and Pakistan Broadcasting companies, civil aviation, fire fighting, agricultural workers, teachers and education institution workers, hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, non-profit organisation workers, and security/watch services at energy or transport facilities are all excluded from the protection of the constitutional right "to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonable restriction imposed by law", and may not form unions or bargain collectively.

ITUC complains that there are many legal obstacles to the right to strike. "For example, it takes a least one month before a strike can be legally declared. The period for bilateral dialogue between management and the union is 15 days. Where settlement is not reached, the conciliation procedure also lasts 15 days. Cooling off periods also must be observed before a legal strike can be held.

The government also has the right to ban any strike that may cause "serious hardship to the community" or prejudice the national interest, and it can end any strike that has lasted for more than 30 days.

The 1999 Anti-Terrorist Ordinance, which defines the crime of a "terrorist act", includes "acts of civil commotion" which carry a penalty of imprisonment for terms ranging from seven years to life, as well as fines. Illegal strikes, go-slow actions, and picketing are also considered as forms of "civil commotion" under this Ordinance.

In Pakistan's 22 Export processing zones (EPZs) workers are prohibited from forming or joining unions, bargaining collectively or striking. They have no protection against employer interference or anti-union discrimination.

The rare strikes that occur are, given the complications attached to organising a strike, usually illegal and short. They are often broken up by police and used by employers to justify dismissals.

Women workers face double exploitation. ITUC quotes Rubina Jameel, President of the Working Women's Organisation (WWO). She reported in 2004 that women trade union activists face accusations of "bringing dishonour" on their families if they try to organise women workers. Ms Jameel herself has been criticised by religious groups for "corrupting women" and being "against Islam" because of her work.

Workers also suffer under the broader attack on human rights. Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes any gathering of more than four people subject to police authorisation. Hence it can easily be used against any trade union gathering.

Police viciously attacked with batons a peaceful protest organised outside the Sindh Provincial Assembly in Karachi by workers from two closed-down state-owned sugar mills on 11 May 2006. Union leaders and rank and file worker activists were arrested, and the protest encampment broken up. The protest was part of a hard-fought campaign by the two unions over the closures and subsequent layoffs, which finally resulted in an agreement with the government on alternative employment.

Human rights monitors and international human rights groups have reported disappearances, the use of torture against suspects by police, and a climate of impunity marked by close connections between influential elites and local authorities.

Human Rights Watch describes how "the general's rule has seen the Pakistani military engage in abuse, brutality and greed. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Musharraf's political adversaries have disappeared. Some, as Human Rights Watch has documented, have been sent to secret CIA-controlled detention facilities. But many more, unconnected to the war on terror, remain in the hands of the Pakistani military's feared Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

" Journalists are regularly threatened, beaten and tortured - and several have been killed. Moderate political parties, which command an overwhelming share of the popular vote, have seen their leaders hounded into exile. Political activists have been harassed and jailed for not accepting Musharraf's supremacy.

" The Pakistani military has a long and well-documented history of prioritising its economic empire, estimated to be worth at least $20 billion, over any ideological considerations. Paid by the U.S., it nurtured radical Islam in the 1980s to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan - and then embraced just as quickly the opportunity to be paid to dismantle the same. Of course, putting that genie back in the bottle has proved difficult, but the effort guarantees continued U.S. political engagement and financial aid," says Human Rights Watch

COSATU supports the demand for a return to civilian rule through free and fair elections, in which exiled political leaders must be allowed to participate. Musharraf must take off his uniform and restore the presidency to its democratic constitutional role.

We demand a truly representative parliament, the restoration of human rights, free trade unions, a free media and democratic institutions through which the people can participate in society.