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SESSION FOUR: THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION ON WORKERS AND TRADE UNIONS

Place: PILER’s office

Date: Sunday, April 11, 1999

There were only 5 participants present including the facilitator. After a brief discussion, we decided to go ahead with the session since we were already delayed from our schedual. Reports of the session 3 from other countries were read and discussed. Following are our responses to the only questions posed by Australian coleagues.

• We did not have this information about the Nestle employees available, since it’s industries are not based in Karachi. We will try to contact its union and find out about it.
• No, we have no ACCOR hotels in Pakistan.
• No, George Weston Foods is not present here either.
• Yes, maintenance workers in the govt. sector are one of the major victims of privatization.

After a brief discussion of the situatuin of other countries we went on to our main discussion of ‘the effects of globalization on workers and trade unions’.

 The privatization of state assets and industries which means loss of jobs for the thousands of workers and weakening of the TUs, specially in the services sector where the bulk of our unionized workers are concentrated. Due to resistance at national level this process has been slowed down in the sectors like, transport (Pakistan Railways, Pkistan International Airlines etc.), communications (Pak Telecommunications, Pakistan Television, Pak Radio etc.) and power generation and transmision and distribution etc. but it seems inevitable.

The worst thing is that most of the assets and industries that are sold are ones that are going in profit at dirt cheap prices as political favours while the sick and non-profit making industries that no one buys are used as bad example to use as an argument in the favour of privatisation.

There has been a huge increas in child labour, the number of people on streets, drug addiction and crime. The worst part is that most of the child labour as well as women who work in very small houses under inhuman conditions keep switiching to producing small things like incense sticks and shopping bags etc. which do not offer any skills that would be usefull later. Due to increasing privatisation and deregulation of services industries the prices of basic facilities have increased many fold for the working people, while the industries are being given more and more incentives which is making poor, the poorer and wealthy , the wealthier. The only political expression that takes shape in such marginalized and unorganized working communitites is extremely ethnic and sectarian and is very violent.

 With the free market economy and the competitive prices have brought about the closures of many industries and the labour flexibility and EPZs have created the problems of temporary/subcontracted labour. On one hand it makes worker completely inconfident of his labour since he/she is always unsure whether the units they work in will continue or shut down and on the other hand makes the wages go down while the prices of utilities keep increasing. They feel threatened and the managements and contractor are increasingly powerful.

 The union density has decreased due to three reasons. One) the hiring of contractual/ temporary labour. Two) the sub-contracting of parts of production to small home based industries which again increases the lay-offs and reduces the numbers of workers. Three) the constant fear of being the next victim on the part of permanent workers. Also union members feel more vulnerable in the face of changing realities and having smaller numbers to represent while bargaining.

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