KARACHI, May 1: A resolution adopted by the labour unity committee — a confederation of over 30 trade unions and professional bodies — has called for scrapping of the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 which it termed as anti-worker.

In addition, the resolution called for the restoration of trade unions in all the institutions. As per the 1973 Constitution, everyone should be allowed to form a union, it demanded.

The resolution was adopted at a public meeting organized at Karachi Press Club on Saturday to commemorate the 12th death anniversary of Habib Jalib on the eve of May Day. Following the meeting, members of trade unions, non-governmental organizations, and professional bodies participated in a torch-bearing procession.

Leader of the opposition in the senate, Raza Rabani, said that if voted to power, the PPP government would reinstate all those workers who had been sacked under the directives of the World Bank and the IMF during the present regime.

The president of the Pakistan Railways Workers Federation, Manzoor Razi, said that May Day movement was launched for an eight-hour working day and became a success after immense sacrifices rendered by workers in Chicago.

Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, Mamnoon Husain, Nisar Jalib and Muslim Shamim also spoke on the occasion.

In addition, the resolution demanded that the minimum salary of workers should be at par with the cost of one unit of gold, 15 per cent of quota for the workers should be allotted in the parliament so that the anti-worker role played by a few elements could be countered.

It also called for the implementation of the Seventh Wage Board Award of the newspaper workers; discriminatory attitude towards the women be done away with; influential families involved in the incidents of gang-rapes be deprived of the voting rights.

To end poverty every man and women should be provided with social security cover, downsizing, privatization and rightsizing should be scraped. Continuously, sky rocketing prices of the commodities of daily use should be brought under control. Moreover, the right of education should be provided to everyone and student unions be restored. Besides, privatization of educational institutions should be stopped forthwith.

The resolution called for an end to the privatization process taking place in PTCL, PIA, KPT, Shipyard, Sui Northern and Southern Gas, Pakistan Steel, railways, banks and financial institutions.

It also demanded an end to the ongoing penetration of army into public utility organizations.