National Labour Federation of Pakistan President Shams-ur-Rehman Swati Press Conference with Representatives of the Workers’ Representative ‘Junior Action Committee’
Islamabad () National Labour Federation of Pakistan President Shams-ur-Rehman Swati has said that the “Junior Action Committee” consisting of millions of workers and their representative federations across Pakistan strongly demands from the government of Pakistan that the country’s largest representative federation be given full participation and representation rights in international forums in accordance with the ILO rules and regulations and that unrepresentative and irrelevant individuals be prevented from becoming the voice of the workers. He said that this is not only a violation of ILO rules, but also a blatant abuse of Pakistan’s original trade union movement. We have informed the Prime Minister of Pakistan in this regard through a formal letter and requested immediate intervention, but no practical action has been taken so far. The consultation process should be made transparent and regular so that no decision is unilateral. If our demand is not accepted, we reserve the right to protest in every possible way within the constitutional and legal framework. The labour leaders said that it is the national responsibility of all of us, including the government, to prevent Pakistan’s labor movement from weakening further. They expressed these views while holding a press conference in Islamabad along with representatives of the “Giant Action Committee” consisting of major labor representative federations of Pakistan. Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, Secretary General of Pakistan Workers Federation, Lala Sultan Khan, Secretary General of Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation, and Abdul Sattar, Secretary General of All Pakistan Labor Federation were also present on the occasion. Shamsur Rahman Swati and Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin said that every year, the International Labour Conference (ILC) is held in Geneva under the International Labour Organization (ILO), in which tripartite delegations of member countries, government, employers and labour representatives, participate. According to ILO regulations, the representation of workers is the responsibility of the largest labour organization of the country. They said that all forums, including the NIRC, have unanimously recognized that the National Labor Federation of Pakistan is the largest organization fighting for the rights of workers in the country. It is regrettable to say that the government of Pakistan ignored this basic principle after 2023 and in 2024 as well. In the recent year, an unrepresentative person, Zahoor Awan, was nominated as a labour delegate, which was formally objected to in the ILO Credentials Committee. Shamsur Rahman Swati said that the government of Pakistan had assured this committee that the largest representative federation would be present in this conference in the future. Participation will be ensured. Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin said that for the 2025 ILC, the government first nominated NLF President Shams-ur-Rehman Swati as a delegate and Secretary General Haseeb-ur-Rehman as an advisor. This information was available on the official website of the ILO until May 21, but later, suddenly, without any consultation, this nomination was withdrawn and Zahoor Awan was once again included as a delegate, and the president of the largest federation was made a mere advisor. It is also worth mentioning that the person who is being represented repeatedly is neither an official of any labor organization, nor does he meet the definition of a “workman”. The federation to which they show affiliation is also ranked seventh in the country according to a recent NIRC report. We believe that such individuals have used international forums, including the ILO, for purely personal gain and the genuine trade unions of Pakistan are being continuously ignored, which has also damaged the reputation of an institution like the ILO in Pakistan.
