Case Study on WAPDA

1

LABOR UNION MANAGEMENT A CASE STUDY OF WATER WATER AND AN D POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (WAPDA)

Submitted to: Mr. Farhan Azma M!r Assistant Professor Bahauddin Zakriya University, Multan, Pakistan E-mail: farhanmir!!"hotmail#$om

S"#m!$% #&' Adnan Ma%sood +ull hani Umer /as /asoo ooll 0ha 0han n  2ayyaba  2ayyaba Mushta% Sehrish +a3ar M# Asad Saleem 5ila6ar 7afee8 7umayoon Askary  9ohar 7ussain Bukhta Bukhta6ar 6ar Mehfoo8 Mehfoo8 7a8 Akram

ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A >AP5A

&MB-1'-()* &MB-1'-.* &MB &MB-1' -1'- -* &MB-1'-.* &MB-1'-(4* &MB-1'-1.* &MB-1'-'4* &MB-1'-1* &MB-1'-'* &MB-1' &MB-1'-11 -11** &MBE-.!-('*

' EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A labour union is an organization based on membership o f employees in various trades, occupations and professions, whose major focus is the representation of its members at the wo rk place and in the wider society. It particularly seeks to advance its interest through the process of rule-making and collective bargaining. The present study basically aims to understand how the labour union operates  particularly in A!"A, which is one of the largest organizations in !akistan. In this regard, data was also collected through interviews from the members of the labour union of A!"A. The results of the study indicate that these unions play a major in not only raising their voices for the  benefits of its employees but also play a significant role in decision making process of the organization. 1. INTRODUCTION

#ight is life, and electricity has become one of the essential needs of the modern world. It has  brought with it innovations which have worked many wonders in our lives which now seem impossible without it. $lectricity powers our lights, provide heating and energy for electronic appliances and a host of essential services which we now take for granted. %owever, electricity has much more important aspects because it is a fundamental feature of all matter. $lectricity is the force that holds together the molecules and atoms of all substances. $conomic development is very closely and directly linked with energy development &'urke, ())*+. It is one of the basic infrastructure through which development in industrial, commercial, agricultural and residential sector, as also in transport can take place. 1.1 WATER AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORUTY (WAPDA): THE CASE UNDER CONSIDERATION

In this regard, A!"A, the !akistan ater and !ower "evelopment Authority, was created in / as a 0emi-Autonomous 'ody for the purpose of coordinating and giving a unified direction to the development of schemes in ater and !ower 0ectors, which were previously being dealt with, by the respective $lectricity and Irrigation "epartment of the !rovinces. 0ince, 1ctober ())2, A!"A has been bifurcated into two distinct entities i.e. A!"A and !akistan $lectric !ower 3ompany &!$!31+. A!"A is responsible for water and hydropower development whereas !$!31 is

ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A

? vested with the responsibility of thermal power generation, transmission, distribution and billing. A!"A is now fully responsible for the development of %ydel !ower and ater 0ector !rojects. The 3harter of "uties of A!"A is to investigate, plan and e4ecute schemes for the following fields5 6eneration, Transmission and "istribution of !ower. • • • •

Irrigation, ater 0upply and "rainage. !revention of ater logging and 7eclamation of aterlogged and 0aline #ands. 8lood 9anagement. Inland :avigation.

Thus, A!"A is one of the largest employers of human resources in !akistan. 1ver the years A!"A has built-up a reservoir of Technical know-how and e4pertise which has made it a modern and progressive organization.

1.2 DESCRIBING THE TRADE UNIONS:

Trade unions are associations of workers formed and registered under Industrial 7elations 1rdinance under several restrictive conditions. 8oremost is the condition that restricts its membership only to workers actually employed in the establishment or the industry concerned though it allows one-fourth of its e4ecutive body members to be from outside the establishment. ;nder the law, trade union cannot operate unless it has been certified as 3ollective 'argaining Agent. The law also restricts registration of sector- based trade unions5 workers of a particular  sector, i.e. te4tile, employed at different establishments in different locations cannot form a single union. The number and strength of the trade unions have diminished considerably over the years due to increasingly restrictive legislation imposed by the state. The reasons for weak and ineffective trade unionism rights and interests in an industry or establishment. The right to join association is guaranteed under article 2 of the 3onstitution of Islamic 7epublic of !akistan, which says, ?$very citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of sovereignty or integrity of !akistan,  public order or morality@. Article 2 of the 3onstitution not only guarantees freedom of association  but also collective bargaining as a fundamental right. eeping in view this provision, labour law in !akistan allows formation and joining of trade unionsBassociations to both the employers and the employees. There is a special law in !akistan for  trade union registration and settlement of industrial disputes i.e., Industrial 7elations Act. After   passage of /th 3onstitutional amendment, labor is no longer a subject on concurrent list i.e. central government can no longer legislate in labor related matters. Though provinces are allowed to legislate in labor matters now, yet only !unjab province has enacted its ?!unjab Industrial 7elations Act ())@ so far. The other three provinces and federal capital territory are still in the process of  consultation on new legislation. orkers are entitled to join a union without previous authorizationC however, they can become members of only one union at a time. If a worker joins more than one union at a time, his earlier  membership will get cancelled. 9oreover, both workers and employers have the right to join federations and confederations, which have the right to affiliate with international organizations. %aving said this, it is significant to mention the role of 3'A & 3ollective 'argaining Agent.+ This can be described as a trade union, which is the elected agent of workers in an establishment. A collective bargaining agent is elected after holding a secret ballot election if there is more than one union in an establishment. 1.4 LABOUR UNIONS IN WAPDA:

0ince A!"A is one of the largest employers of human resource in !akistan, it therefore has two labour unions namely ?All !akistan A!"A %ydro $lectric orkers ;nion@ or more commonly known as ?%D"71 ;:I1:@ and ?!$6%A9 ;:I1:@. In this regard, one of the key point to ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A

( remember is that the %ydro ;nion has recently won referendum against !egham ;nion with *))) lead thus becoming the 3'A which was announced by :ational Industrial 7elation 3ommission &:I73+ under the section  &+ 3 of I73 Act ()(. :otably, it is also significant to mention that %ydro ;nion has been in power in A!"A for the last *) years thus taking care of its members and working for the betterment of its employees. 8or instance, some of the steps that %ydro ;nion has taken for the improvement of its workers are a s follows5 •

• • • •

$stablished seven labour halls in regions where temporary residence and refreshment for  employees is free. "ifferent, free of cost computer courses are run for its employees. !rovides funds such as ?widow fund@ and ?accidental fund@. Issues credit with no interest. 9arriage grant is given for the employee>s children.

1n the other hand, !$6%A9 ;nion is not only working in A!"A but is also operational in !akistan 7ailways, !akistan International Airlines &!IA+, and !akistan Telecommunication #imited &!T3#+. This union became 3'A for only three months as a result of / th amendment under the constitution of !akistan. 2. RATIONALE:

In !akistan, there are two point of view about the labor union organization. 8irst, positive and second negative. 'ut in case of labor union or other union have a negative perception in general  public mind. In 6eneral !ublic mind, they thought that union doesn>t work efficiently. 'ut in this study, we are proofing that union has also a positive aspect, they work for the betterment of the employees and they do not allow to 6overnment to those actions that directly impact on the employees. As already mentioned above, trade unions are organizations of workers that seek  through collective bargaining with employers to5 •

!rotect and improve the real incomes of their members

•

!rovide or improve job security

•

!rotect workers against unfair dismissal and other issues relating to employment legislation

ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A



•

#obby for better working conditions

•

1ffer a range of other work-related services including support for people claiming compensation for injuries sustained in a job

%ence, keeping in view the above mentioned facts, the aim of this case study is to comprehend the functioning of labour unions in A!"A. 3. RESEARCH UESTION: hat is the focal point of present study in understanding the role of labour unions particularly in

A!"AE 4. LITERATURE REVIEW:

Akteruzzaman &())F+ says that labor unions as ?#abor unions are voluntary associations of workers to promote and protect their interest by collective endeavor and constitute an integral part of the relationship between the employees and employers@. hereas, 6omper &())+ has given more comprehensive definition in a way ?that labor union is a group of workers who have organized in order to pursue common work-related goals, such as better wages and benefits, safer working conditions, and greater job security@. 'y concluding all definitions we can say that labor union is ?1rganization whose membership consists of workers and union leaders, and whose principal  purposes are to negotiate wages and working condition terms, regulate relations between workers &its members+ and the employer, take collective action to enforce the terms of collective bargaining, raise new demands on behalf of its members, and help settle their grievances@. "onas &())+ says that unions adopt two means to fulfill their goals. 8irst and foremost is through collective bargaining with the employer being as a representative of the employees. The second way they adopt is through efforts to influence government legislation. ;nion>s are working both in  public and private sector organizations to protect the rights of employees.

In Indo-!ak, as reported by 'awa and %ashmi &())+, the concept of collective labor was introduced by 9alik 6okhale which was given legal identity through the introduction of Trade ;nion Act (F. At that time, two most strong unions working under the influence of :ational 3ongress and 0ocialist !arty were Indian Trade ;nion 3ongress &I:T;3+ and %industan 9azdur  ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A

) 0abha &%90+. After the inception of !akistan, the first trade union established in !akistan was !akistan Trade ;nion 8ederation &!T;8+ having ties with I:T;3 and 9irza Ibrahim as its first !resident.

!. BACKGROUND O" THE STUDY:

The present study focuses on understanding the role played by the %ydro ;nion against the  privatization of A!"A and the cancellation of order of ?free units@ for its employees. In this conte4t, it is also important to recognize the primary objective of privatizing A!"A. Thus, it was argued that governments have grown too fat to effectively handle the delivery and provision of   public services including A!"A. 8urthermore, it was asserted that the decline in the Guality and  performance of public sector services was largely due to ?politicization@. 9oreover, it was argued that these departments also suffer from bureaucratic irregularities, official-arrogance, and corrupt and socially irresponsible practices which cause major obstacles to efficient provision of services. According to the proponents this could be put to an end by de-bureaucratization, deregulation, and involving the private sector in the provision of public services. !rivatization was therefore seen as a solution for these ills as, according to them, private concerns are more efficient in production of  goods and in service delivery. %owever, one of the most important recipients of this kind of change was the workers of A!"A, especially the ones who were shifted from A!"A to !$!31 through an e4ecutive order. 9oreover, designations were changed &e.g.at the e4ecutive posts 9'A graduates were hired+, seniority levels were revised and employees between scale 2-() were given options.

This finally led to an active resistance that came from employees in form of protests including sit in front of the parliament house !akistan. A!"A %ydro $lectric 3entral #abour ;nion thus launched protest campaigns against privatization of A!"A. ;nion members took out processions and held rallies in different cities of the country from time to time to urge the government to discontinue from privatizing the organization. The slogan-chanting workers urged the federal government not to privatize profit-earning organizations like A!"A at the directive of the orld 'ank and I98. 8urthermore, they criticized the policies of downsizing and rightsizing of the government which, according to the union leaders, have caused an unprecedented unemployment and lawlessness in the ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A

4 country. The union leaders and workers were determined to resist the privatization of A!"AHs regional organizations. In this regard, when some of the union members were interviewed, in order to support their  arguments, they Guoted the e4ample of arachi $lectric 0upply 3ompany &$03+. They compared the working of $03 with that of A!"A in !unjab and concluded the following5

P,$/*0 KESC

L#$% L&''%' () - ( J -*)

T%$#*+ I'',%' / - ) ( - 

T%-  - ( J - F

%ence, the union workers not only raised their voices against the privatizing of the organization but also indicated that it would not bring any good to the country also.

. CONCLUSION:

eeping in view the above mentioned facts, it can be concluded that labour union in A!"A  played a key role in stopping the government from privatizing one of the largest civil organizations of the country. In this regard, they took immediate and forceful actions to ensure the betterment of  not only its employees but also ensured the progress of the country. #abor union of A!"A>s %ydro play a positive role in this issue, %ydro prove that if labor union play in effective way than union don>t give chance to anyone take negative action against employees. %ydro has secured the employees interest in result of free supply and restrict the government do not take action to  privatize the largest civil department of !akistan.

ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A

! RE"ERENCES

Mr# /ana AsAP5A Mr# Saeed Sial Sub-divisional hairman 7ydro >AP5A Mr# Muhammad /ashid Sub-divisional @i$e hairman 7ydro >AP5A >ebsites: Me$o: www.mepco.com.pk  >ada: www.wapda.gov.pk 

ase Study: ;abor Union ManaAP5A