Rabbani seeks representation of working class in Parliament

ISLAMABAD: Former Senate chairman Senator Mian Raza Rabbani on Sunday demanded that a parliamentary committee be formed immediately to review the anti-labour legislation and provide relief to the working class at a time when the prices of essential commodities are touching the sky.

“The working class must get representation in the Parliament by having seats reserved for them. It is sad that the political parties have not raised this issue,” he said while talking with The News on Sunday.

Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said the May Day is a day of international solidarity with the working classes and the sacrifices rendered by them for their rights.

“In Pakistan, the worst years for the labour class were the days of Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and the PTI regime, when the labour movement was crushed at the behest of crony capitalists and the IMF,” he said.

The former Senate chairman said the government should remove all obstacles in the process of trade union activities and make laws for the abolition of third-party and daily wage contracts in the public and private sectors.

He said the working classes in Pakistan are going through a period of oppression and suppression, both at the hands of the state, big business, multinational companies and feudal.

The senator demanded that the federal government should immediately withdraw The Essential Services Act, which is enforced in a number of organisations, particularly the PIA and Pakistan Railways. As a result of this Act, the trade union activities have been banned and there are no collective bargaining agents (CBA), he added.

“The working class is at the mercy of the management,” he said, adding that the trade union activities should be allowed in the banking industry. “The government must ensure that the minimum wage policy is implemented by the employers,” he said.