In July 2010 the Labour Quami Movement (LQM) began negotiating with employers to implement a 17% wage increase adopted by Government. Following 3 weeks of negotiations employers refused to pass on the pay increase. Subsequently 100,000 workers in Faisalabad and surrounding areas came out on strike to protest. It was during this strike that LQM trade union leaders were labelled as terrorists by the employers and they were arrested at a local police station. In early November 2011 the Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan sentenced 6 union leaders to 490 years in jail for terrorism offences, despite the lack of any legitimate evidence to justify their arrest and sentencing. It is clear that the employers and judiciary aligned to silence the fundamental right of the workers to organise and bargain collectively as prescribed in ILO coventions 87 and 98.
Letter
I am deeply concerned by the decision of the Anti Terrorism Court to sentence 6 trade union leaders from the Labour Qaumi Movement to a combined total of 490 years [1] in prison on falsified charges. I call on you to ensure the immediate release from prison of those trade union officials Akbar Ali Kamboh, Babar Shafiq Randhawa, Fazal Elahi, Rana Riaz Ahmed, Muhammad Aslam Malik and Asghar Ali Ansari.
To sign:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1168