Expert opinion: ‘Overhaul labour courts to improve efficiency’

‘Increase number of courts or hire more judges at existing courts’.

LAHORE:

Labour courts and tribunals in the country need to be overhauled to make adjudication of cases more efficient, concluded a group of experts on Thursday.  

The meeting held at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan head office observed that a number of labourers could not access courts because either their work was not documented or they were not identified as workers under the law.

The meeting was attended by representatives from trade unions and lawyers specialising in labour laws.

The experts said the purview of high courts on labour courts and tribunals needed more clarity, particularly in the appointment of presiding officers.

They said more labour courts should be established or number of judges at the existing courts increased to manage workload more efficiently.

They said an exclusive judicial service should be established for labour courts.

They added that if that was not possible, judges of labour courts should be educated in labour rights. They also urged the trade unions to arrange training on labour rights for workers. The experts also suggested including labour law as a compulsory subject in the curriculum of all law schools in the country.

The experts said that the governments did not appear to be serious in resolving the problems of the workers. “The poor condition of labour courts and tribunals reflects the apathetic attitude of the governments,” they added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2012.