ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: Former prime minister and chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, has condemned the proposed Industrial Relations Ordinance (Amendment), 2002, which will deprive the labour of the benefits admissible to them under the Employees Old Age Benefits scheme, launched in 1976 by the first PPP government.

In a statement issued here by PPP media cell, she criticized the ordinance and demanded restoration of rights of workers.

The new ordinance aims at restricting the labour unions’ activities as guaranteed not only under the EOBI scheme but also in a full-bench judgment of the Supreme Court. The EOBI scheme itself was established under IRO, 1969.

Section 1(4)(f) in the proposed amendment will even deprive the labour, employed by an establishment, of payment of old-age pension apart from restricting the activities of labour unions. Former premier said that as elections had been held and the National Assembly was already in place, there was no need or justification for issuing ordinances.

She said law making should now be left to the elected representatives, who were supposed to account the viewpoint of all stake-holders.

She said that promulgation of the ordinance was not only a violation of the Constitution, but its anti-labour provisions also violated the International Labour Organization’s conventions and standards.

She said that it would be dangerous to ignore the viewpoint of the labour unions regarding the new ordinance.

The 16th Labour Federations Conference, held at Karachi, recently, unanimously rejected the new ordinance and demanded its withdrawal.

Ms Bhutto said that the PPP had been in the forefront to safeguard the interests and welfare of the labour, and would continue to do so in the future as well.